The devastated girlfriend of Dallas Cowboys rising star Marshawn Kneeland has spoken of her raw agony following the 24-year-old’s shocking suicide last week.
Seen in exclusive Daily Mail photos for the first time since the tragedy, Catalina Mancera, 22, put on a brave face Monday as she left the apartment building in Plano, Texas where the defensive end had lived before his death.
She would not speculate on what drove the young NFL rookie to take his own life just hours after he celebrated his first touchdown in front of millions, telling the Daily Mail: ‘It’s too much.’
‘I’m grieving hard right now. It will be a long time before I’ll feel ready to talk at any length,’ she added.
‘We’re still in the early stages of everything. We are working on the funeral arrangements. I don’t know where it’s going to be yet.’
Mancera, who founded a sportswear line with designs featuring Kneeland’s name and image, has been staying at the exclusive high-rise apartment.
Catalina Mancera, girlfriend of late NFL star Marshawn Kneeland, broke cover in Plano, Texas, days after his tragic suicide
Distressing 911 audio released last week revealed Mancera was the one who had alerted cops that Kneeland had a gun, fearing he would kill himself
Wearing an oversized hoodie, she was comforted by Kneeland’s sister Yahmya, 26, as the two women met outside the luxury complex.
The distraught girlfriend forced a welcoming smile as she helped the relative with her luggage on arrival at the impressive building, where penthouses start at $14,200 a month.
It was Catalina who warned cops that Kneeland had a gun and she feared he would kill himself after he sparked the pursuit by inexplicably refusing to pull over for a traffic violation in Frisco, Texas.
‘We’re talking to the girlfriend… she’s saying he’s armed and has a history of mental illness and her quote was ‘he will end it all’, a dispatcher said in harrowing police audio after the chase started around 10.30pm on November 5.
The Cowboys defensive end – who scored his memorable touchdown from a blocked punt against the Arizona Cardinals – sent his family a group text saying ‘goodbye’ during the drama involving Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, according to the audio.
Cops lost sight of Kneeland, who then crashed his car into a pick-up truck in Plano and fled on foot. Officers found his bloodied body in a port-a-potty in the early hours of November 6.
Mancera was spotted on Monday meeting Kneeland’s sister Yahmya outside the Plano apartment building where the NFL player lived before shooting himself dead
Mancera appeared intent to keep a low profile, covering up in a oversized gray hoodie, sweatpants, and sneakers
She would not speculate on what drove the 24-year-old to kill himself and told the Daily Mail ‘it will be a long time before I’ll feel ready to talk’
Mancera began dating the NFL star when he was at Western Michigan University in her native Kalamazoo, his cousin Nicole Kneeland-Woods told the Daily Mail. He is from nearby Grand Rapids.
‘Marshawn shared a very special relationship with Catalina, whom he had been with since his sophomore year of college,’ she said.
‘They supported each other through many stages of life. Catalina is an important part of our family and she’s hurting deeply too.’
Mancera recently founded SZN Stitches, which produces custom game day apparel.
Several of its featured designs include Kneeland’s name, photo and his number 94.
Relatives who have spoken with the Daily Mail have contradicted the assertion attributed to Catalina in the police audio that Kneeland was suffering from mental health issues.
Mancera mourned Kneeland’s loss in a heartbreaking tribute on Facebook on Monday, sharing a selfie of the couple
The football star’s biggest supporter had been pictured at his side on game days in social media photos
The player was, however, haunted by the loss of his mother Wendy who died aged just 45 in February last year from an accidental drug overdose at her home in Buckeye, Arizona.
A medical examiner found oxycodone and morphine in her system, alongside anti-depressants and muscle relaxants.
‘There were no previous signs or indications that Marshawn was dealing with mental issues,’ Kneeland-Woods told us.
‘Marshawn was a strong, loving person who cared deeply about his family and everyone around him.
‘Losing his mother last year and his grandfather in 2023 was incredibly hard for him. They were close and those losses weighed heavily on his heart.
‘But beyond that grief, Marshawn didn’t show signs of depression or mental health issues.’
Kneeland – pictured on the field on September 21 – was in the midst of his second season when he shot himself dead on November 5
Mancera recently founded apparel brand, SZN Stitches, which produces custom game day apparel. She has been pictured wearing some of her designs, which featured Kneeland’s name and jersey number 94
She continued: ‘Our family is devastated and still trying to process something that feels unimaginable. We want people to remember Marshawn for his kindness, his sense of humor and his drive,
‘He was loved deeply and that love will always be his legacy.’
The tragic star’s uncle Preston Kneeland also told the Daily Mail he was not aware of any history of mental illness – and shut down online speculation that drugs might have been involved.
‘There’s been social media garbage about drugs, but I can tell you Marshawn hated drugs, absolutely hated them,’ he said.
‘He never smoked, he never touched alcohol and he disliked prescription medicine. He would always try to find a natural way to treat things.’
Details of the weapon Kneeland used to kill himself are not known. His uncle confirmed the player had a permit to carry in Michigan.
He was living in this apartment building in Plano, Texas, at the time of his death
Kneeland scored his first NFL touchdown on Monday night, just two days before his death
The medical examiner for Collin County, which covers Plano, has not released the autopsy findings or toxicology report because the tragedy Is still being investigated, said information chief Derrick Jackson.
It is understood Kneeland’s body is still in Texas and may have been transferred to a funeral home. There was no record on Monday of a death certificate being issued.
Mancera expressed her grief to the Daily Mail days after one of Kneeland’s cousins in Grand Rapids blamed the police for effectively ‘killing’ him.
Jasmine Kneeland, 33, revealed her beloved first cousin had been due at a planned reunion in Michigan days after the touchdown game last Monday.
‘I truly think they killed him, I truly do,’ she said. ‘Because why else would he run for his life then kill himself in a port-a-potty?’
Speaking as if Kneeland were still alive, she fought tears as she continued: ‘Marshawn is not a violent person. He is not a hothead. Something here is just not right. Something made him really scared and he ran.
Kneeland was still grieving his late mother Wendy, who died unexpectedly from an accidental drug overdose last year at the age of 45
The athlete is seen with his mom in a photo shared to his Instagram account in May 2019
‘This is nothing like him at all. He loves his family. He’s like a big kid. He likes making TikTok videos of the little ones in our family, he likes being around them a lot.
‘He was generous with them, always buying stuff.
‘I mean, why would he do something like that all of a sudden? That’s not the person I know. Our family is utterly devastated.’
She added: ‘We had this big reunion planned this week at the home where he grew up. We do that kind of thing. All the children come, all the family come together.
‘We eat, we laugh, we pray together. Everybody’s so proud of Marshawn. He’s come such a long way and there was such love for him.
‘He was supposed to be here with us in Grand Rapids. Not dead after a police chase.’
Speaking of Mancera, she said: ‘She comes to the family gatherings too. But she’s very, very quiet. She was always with him before he became well known.’
Frisco Police Department said in a statement: ‘After losing visual of the vehicle, troopers located it minutes later, crashed on southbound Dallas Parkway near Warren Parkway.’ It added the driver ran away.
There were subtle signs of singularity and possible inward focus while Kneeland was at college, according to a former roommate at Western Michigan.
Patrick Grange said: ‘He hung out with his girlfriend, he played video games, he watched films and played football. That’s what he did, like he was not into anything else.
‘He didn’t party, he didn’t go out. Like he was strictly about his family and about football.’
Grange hailed his late friend as a ‘selfless human being, a great team leader and mentor’ who let him live with him for two months without charging him a dollar in rent.
Jasmine Kneeland told the Daily Mail her beloved late cousin had been due at a planned family reunion this week in Michigan
Marshawn played for the Western Michigan Broncos while in college
He also highlighted Kneeland’s love of ‘video games and anime’ [Japanese animation], with one of the football star’s tattoos offering a potential insight into a troubled soul.
The player had an ink of an anime character called Shigeo Kagewama, nicknamed Mob, from the Japanese cartoon series Mob Psycho 100.
The show tells the story of the titular character’s struggle to find happiness.
Mob is described as a ‘powerful psychic who represses his emotions to keep his powers from getting out of control.’.
Over the course of the series, he is eventually able to come to terms with the emotions that frequently roil him and grow as a person.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, whose brother took his own life in 2020, mourned Kneeland hours after the shock news, saying: ‘It’s been a very tough day. It’s a tragic loss. I hurt.
‘Heavy, heavy, heavy hurt for Marshawn. I hurt for his family. I hurt for his girlfriend. I hurt for every single one of my teammates.
‘This is pain you don’t wish on anybody…. you wish Marshawn didn’t have to go through what he went through.’
