Department 25 in the North County Division of San Diego Superior Court sits at the end of a third-floor hallway, sheltered from most of the building's swirling traffic of criminal and civil cases.
One recent morning, giggling kids wrapped in clothes hand-picked for a special day shattered the relative calm. Hugs, photos and court-furnished teddy bears punctuated an adoption hearing rushing to a heartwarming close.
Then in a blink, the courtroom ushered out the new families _ along with the smiles.
The room plunged into disturbing darkness amid graphic, grisly testimony about alleged rapes and kidnappings involving women ages 54 and 59 and misdemeanor charges related to three others.
At the surprising center of the controversy was a 10-year NFL veteran with one of the most famous names in football. Kellen Winslow II watched without emotion as his wife, mother and namesake Hall of Fame father endured the avalanche of alarming details while questions lingered in the transformed room.
At the end of his two-day preliminary hearing, a Vista judge ordered Winslow, 35, to stand trial on six felony kidnapping and sexual assault charges, one misdemeanor count of indecent exposure and two misdemeanor counts of trespassing.
That same day, prosecutors filed a new charge, this one alleging he raped an unconscious 17-year-old girl in 2003. He has pleaded not guilty. Winslow's attorneys, Brian Watkins and Harvey Steinberg, did not respond to requests for comment.
How did someone with seemingly limitless athletic ability and the type of privilege undoubtedly afforded to the son of a Chargers legend end up here? Why was the man who became a Pro Bowl player with the Cleveland Browns and reportedly earned about $43 million facing the possibility of life in prison? How had he come to this moment where he had admitted to investigators that he engaged in consensual extramarital sex with transient women, according to court documents filed by Winslow's attorneys.
Answers remain as difficult to tackle as Winslow the player, who bloomed into a Mackey Award winner as college football's best tight end at the University of Miami and piled up 5,236 yards and 25 touchdowns as a pro.
The Union-Tribune reviewed more than 300 pages of court documents, canvassing records in San Diego and Orange counties, as well as Ohio, New Jersey and Florida. Research included interview requests of people ranging from immediate family to high school, college and NFL coaches.
A picture emerged of a supremely talented, brash and some say misunderstood athlete who sometimes encountered nearly as much trouble as success.
The spotlight, always near when he wore shoulder pads, shifted to a criminal case in June. At the preliminary hearing, a USA Today reporter sat in a courtroom as Winslow defended his innocence. TMZ requested courtroom access. Another former NFL All-Pro, Oceanside's Willie Buchanon, attended the arraignment to support Winslow's famous father.
Once cocky and confident and gifted, Winslow _ a San Diego native _ finds himself in a dramatic run toward an uncertain finish as the sports world finds itself watching _ again.
"He had everything in the world going for him," said former Mission Bay High football coach Dennis Pugh, who game-planned against Winslow in high school. "So what's all this about? It's bizarre."
