Police are investigating the brother of Ravens defensive lineman Calais Campbell in the death of their mother, who was found dead in the brother’s 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 murder, aggravated assault and gun possession.

Police found Nateal Campbell, 71, during a welfare check at Ciarre Campbell’s Buckhead home on Tuesday afternoon. Officials pronounced her dead at the scene. Ciarre appeared to have barricaded himself inside the home, according to the Atlanta Police Department, and he was detained after officers entered the residence.

An investigation is ongoing, police said Tuesday.

Advertise with us

“We are devastated to share that the Campbell Family has lost its matriarch, Mrs. Nateal Campbell,” Campbell’s 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.”

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, named after his late father, Charles Richard Campbell, in 2013, along with his mother and seven siblings.

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 even became an ordained minister in a nondenominational church, according to The Florida Times-Union.

Advertise with us

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

Calais 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, like his brother, was a standout at South High and went on to play cornerback at 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.

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 of false reporting to law enforcement in Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous county.

Advertise with us

Ciarre Campbell was also facing a charge of disorderly conduct in Atlanta for acting in a “violent or tumultuous manner toward another whereby any person is placed in fear of the safety of such person’s life, limb or health.” Court records show that he failed to appear at his June 4 court date in the Municipal Court of Atlanta.