Ravens star’s brother struggled with mental health issues before murder charge

Police have charged the brother of Ravens defensive lineman Calais Campbell with killing their mother, who was found dead in an Atlanta home Tuesday.

Ciarre Campbell, 41, was arrested and booked into Fulton County Jail early Wednesday morning, according to public records. He faces charges of felony murder, murder, aggravated assault and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony.

Police found Nateal Campbell, 71, during a welfare check at the family’s Buckhead home Tuesday afternoon. Officials pronounced her dead at the scene. She had multiple “incisions” across her neck, according to a warrant for Ciarre Campbell.

Ciarre barricaded himself inside the home, according to the Atlanta Police Department, but was detained after officers entered the residence. He had a firearm and knife on his person.

An investigation is ongoing, police said Tuesday.

“We are devastated to share that the Campbell Family has lost its matriarch, Mrs. Nateal Campbell,” the family said in a statement Tuesday. “While the details of her passing are still being investigated, we take comfort in knowing she is reunited with our father, her beloved Chuck, and in the arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We ask for privacy at this time so that we may honor her and share in our overwhelming grief privately and as a family.”

In a statement, a Ravens spokesperson said the team is “incredibly saddened to learn about the passing of Calais Campbell’s mother. We extend our deepest condolences and full support to Calais and his family during this difficult time.”

Ciarre Campbell waived his first court appearance Wednesday. Due to the nature of the charges, a bond amount was not set. The defendant’s lawyer, Jay Abt, did not respond to an email request for comment.

In a 911 call Tuesday, an unidentified brother of Calais said Ciarre had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, a severe mental illness that can cause people to hear voices, suffer from paranoia and withdraw from others.

The caller said Ciarre was staying with Nateal and that he’d driven that morning in her car, which the caller described as “very unusual.” The man said he was calling from outside their house, which he couldn’t enter.

Officers responded to the call around 12:36 p.m., according to police. Ciarre was later transported to the Fulton County Jail without incident.

In a 2017 essay for The Players’ Tribune, Calais Campbell called his mother “my rock.” She had worked as a counselor and adviser for the CRC Foundation since 2012, according to her LinkedIn profile. Calais Campbell, who re-signed with the Ravens in May, launched the foundation in 2013 with his mother and seven siblings. The foundation is named after his late father, Charles Richard Campbell.

The CRC Foundation’s mission is “making the world a better place by developing our community to reach its full potential through mentorship, education and providing resources.” Locally, it has helped pay bills for individuals and families facing financial hardship and has provided therapy sessions for teenagers in Baltimore.

Before her work with the CRC Foundation, Nateal Campbell served as a counselor and social worker in a Las Vegas juvenile court, worked in customer service for an airline and became an ordained minister in a nondenominational church, according to The Florida Times-Union.

Nateal and Charles Campbell married in 1983, by which point she had given birth to two daughters, Kimba and Keyonne. Six boys would follow: Jamar, Raj, Severin, Jared, Ciarre and Calais.

Calais Campbell was a multisport star at South High School in Denver, but he gravitated to football. A top defensive line recruit, he committed to Miami, started for three seasons and became a second-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2008. Over 18 NFL seasons, Campbell has been named a Pro Bowl selection six times and was honored as the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in 2019.

“When he was a little baby, they used to tease him. ... ‘What you’re going to be when you grow up?’” Nateal Campbell said in a 2017 documentary. “And everybody kept saying, ‘You look like a football player.’ And so, when he got bigger, he said, ‘I want to be a football player.’”

Ciarre Campbell was also a standout at South High and went on to play cornerback for Colorado State and Montana. He also competed in track and field at Colorado State, finishing second in the long jump at the 2005 Mountain West Conference indoor championships.

In recent months, however, Ciarre’s time in Atlanta has been tumultuous. Since September, there were nine previous 911 calls to the residence, according to the Atlanta Police Department.

On April 12, two neighbors reported he was acting suspiciously, turning off the power to one’s house and standing on the air conditioner of another’s. The responding officer had spoken to Nateal, who said her son had not been taking his medication, Olanzapine, which is often prescribed for schizophrenia.

On April 24, officers responded to a 911 call after one of Ciarre’s sisters said he’d started a fire inside the house to rid it of its “demons,” according to a police report. Officers found two garbage cans smoking in the garage but could not locate Ciarre.

On May 26, another neighbor reported Ciarre was making her uncomfortable, “acting crazy and putting stuff in her trash and yelling at her,” according to police records. She also alleged that he previously tried to set his own house on fire.

The neighbor showed the responding officer a video from the inside of the house, where there were “several papers on the wall with killing someone on it,” the police report said. She said she felt unsafe living near Ciarre and that she talked to his mother, who told her that her son “is a good kid,” according to the police report.

Ciarre Campbell has spent time in both Arizona and Atlanta in recent years. According to court records, he was found guilty in 2021 of disorderly conduct and false reporting to law enforcement in Maricopa County, Arizona.

Ravens veterans are expected to report to training camp by July 28. The Ravens play the Falcons in Atlanta on Oct. 11.