Woman who killed baby in 1986 sentenced to probation in cold case DNA probe
Janita Phillips, 65, of Lake Mary, Florida, was charged with murder in 2021, after police said new DNA testing linked her to the crime. She pleaded guilty to a lesser manslaughter charge in April.
The probation sentence was unusual in a child homicide case, but warranted because a peer-reviewed psychological assessment concluded Phillips experienced 'extreme emotional distress' at the time of the killing, both the prosecutor and defense lawyer said. Judge Gary White in Stamford, Connecticut, called it a case deserving mercy.
When Phillips killed the infant, she and her husband had just moved into an apartment in Greenwich, Connecticut, with their eldest child after being homeless and her husband had told her he didn't want another baby, her lawyer, Stephen DeLeo, said. The couple, who remain together and have been married for 42 years, were stressed about money and their ability to feed their family, DeLeo said.
Phillips told police she hid the pregnancy from her husband and other relatives, an arrest warrant said. Police said her husband did not know about the baby's death and had no involvement.
Phillips and her husband have three children who are now adults. One of their sons is disabled and resides at an assistant living facility, while her husband has medical problems and she takes care of him, DeLeo said in an interview.
'Incarcerating her would serve no purpose at this time,' DeLeo said, adding that this case was Phillips' only brush with the law in her life. He also said she lost her insurance industry job because of the case.
Phillips cried during the sentencing hearing and said she had a 'deep sense of regret.' She also said she took full responsibility, DeLeo said. Under her sentence, if she violates probation she could face up to 20 years in prison.
The newborn child, named Baby John by police, was found dead in a garbage truck on May 16, 1986, after workers had emptied a dumpster at the apartment building in Greenwich where Phillips lived, authorities said. The chief medical examiner's office determined the baby was strangled shortly after being born and ruled his death a homicide.
Phillips and her family moved to Florida shortly after the baby's death, police said.
Greenwich police said they used newly available DNA testing in 2020 that linked evidence found at the crime scene to the boy's mother. Police took items out of the trash and recycling at Phillips' Florida home in 2020. DNA testing showed Phillips and her husband were the parents of the infant, authorities said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Father of 3 Marines who was forcibly detained by immigration agents speaks out
An undocumented father of three Marines who was forcibly detained by federal immigration agents while at his landscaping job in California last month spoke out for the first time on Friday in emotional, tearful remarks. Customs and Border Patrol agents arrested Narciso Barranco in Santa Ana on June 21, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Video of him being forcibly detained showed masked agents holding him down on the street and repeatedly punching him after he ran from agents. He is currently out on bond after being released from federal custody on July 15 and has an immigration status hearing in August, according to Orange City Council officials. During a press conference in Santa Ana surrounded by local officials and leaders, Barranco thanked the community and his family for their support. "I love you all and I am very proud of you," he said to his children in Spanish. To his wife, Marta, he said, "Thank you for your strength, love, and for never stopping believing in me." MORE: Marine veteran addresses Congress after father forcibly detained by immigration agents Barranco also spoke to the families of other detainees he met while in custody. "I want to tell their families they have faith, they miss you all, and even in that place, they have hope," he said. Barranco asked of federal authorities, "Please, don't take away the opportunities for them to reunite with their families." Lisa Ramirez, a founding partner of US Immigration Law Group and Barranco's legal representative, said his story is not an isolated case. "What I think we can all learn from this one story is that there are hundreds and soon to be millions of people like Mr. Barranco who have been long-standing contributors to our country, who will also be arbitrarily arrested and detained," she said. The Department of Homeland Security said following the arrest that Narciso Barranco is in the country illegally and that he tried to evade law enforcement, "swung a weed whacker directly at an agent's face" and resisted commands. "The agents took appropriate action and followed their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve the situation in a manner that prioritizes the safety of the public and our officers," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement at the time. MORE: Millions of undocumented immigrants will no longer be eligible for bond hearings, according to ICE memo One of Barranco's sons, Marine veteran Alejandro Barranco, told Congress members this week that his father got scared after the masked agents approached him while he was at work. "As he worked, he noticed masked men approaching him, and was quickly surrounded by men who did not identify themselves and never presented any type of warrant," he told Democratic members of the House Committee on Homeland Security during an oversight forum examining the Trump administration's detention and deportation practices on Tuesday. "Terrified, he ran. They chased him through the parking lot and into a crowded street. They pointed guns at him, pepper-sprayed him. They tackled him to the ground and kicked him." He said his father, who has two other sons who are currently serving as Marines, has no criminal record and "should have never been attacked by these agents." "He supported his family and paid taxes," the veteran said. "He is a human being, but he was not treated with the basic dignity he deserved."
CBS News
30 minutes ago
- CBS News
Bryan Kohberger is at a notorious prison housing Chad Daybell and 2 serial killers. Here's what to know.
Bryan Kohberger was formally sentenced to four life terms in prison without parole this week for the brutal 2022 murders of University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves. "He's going to stand up with the belly chains and leg irons he's wearing, he's going to be escorted into the custody of Idaho Department of Correction, and the door will close behind him forever," Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said of Kohberger at the sentencing. Kohberger, a former criminal justice graduate student, is expected to serve out his sentence at Idaho Maximum Security Institution, known as IMSI, CBS affiliate KBOI reports. It is the state's only maximum security prison. IMSI houses several notorious inmates and has been plagued by reports of violence, hunger strikes and allegations of inhumane conditions in recent years. Here's what to know about the prison. Located in Kuna, Idaho, about 20 miles from Boise, the Idaho Maximum Security Institution was opened in 1989. According to its website, IMSI houses the state's "most disruptive male residents" and has a double perimeter fence reinforced with razor wire and an electronic detection system. The facility was named one of the "15 Worst Prisons in America" by Security Journal Americas in 2024 — joining other notorious lockups like Attica Correctional Facility in New York, San Quentin in California and ADX Florence, aka the "Alcatraz of the Rockies," in Colorado. Solitary confinement and lockdowns are common at IMSI, which has "faced criticism for its harsh treatment of inmates and inadequate mental health care," according to Security Journal Americas. CBS affiliate KBOI reported in 2016 that many of the prison's inmates were locked in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, eating alone in their cells with almost no human interaction. The state's top corrections official told the station at the time that they were working to reduce the use of solitary. "IMSI manages the long-term housing of our most dangerous and volatile population, the Idaho Department of Correction told CBS News in an email Friday. Asked about the use of solitary confinement and lockdowns, he department said, "[r]estrictive housing is not a disciplinary sanction, it is a housing assignment designed to manage specific behaviors." In its description of ISMI, Security Journal of Americas notes "numerous reports of inmate-on-inmate violence, as well as allegations of excessive force by correctional officers." In 2023, a fight involving more than 30 inmates broke out at IMSI, the Idaho Statesman reported, sending one prisoner to the hospital. Last summer, dozens of inmates at IMSI refused to eat for six days over numerous grievances, the Idaho Statesman reported, and earlier this month, nearly 90 inmates planned to stage hunger strikes to protest "inhumane conditions" at the prison, according to the paper, The corrections department described it as "a planned, peaceful demonstration" over access to visitation and programming. Kohberger took a plea deal earlier this month that spared him a possible death penalty. He'll be living alongside all of Idaho's eight male death row inmates at IMSI, according to the Idaho Department of Corrections. Among those prisoners is Thomas Creech, a serial killer who's been locked up for half a century. Creech, who was convicted of five murders in three states and suspected of several more, had his scheduled execution halted by a judge last November after his first lethal injection attempt was botched earlier in 2024. Another serial killer incarcerated at ISMI, Gerald Pizzuto, is awaiting execution for two murders in Idaho in 1985. That same year, Pizzuto killed two other people in Washington state after being released from prison in Michigan for rape. Kohberger will also be at the same facility that houses condemned killer Chad Daybell. The husband of "Doomsday mom" Lori Vallow Daybell was convicted of first-degree murder of his first wife and two of his then-girlfriend Lori Vallow's children, Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan, in a case that made national headlines. Chad Daybell was sentenced to death last June, nearly a year after Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced to life in prison. Police files on the quadruple murder case that were released by the Moscow, Idaho, police department Wednesday night shed some light on Kohberger's life behind bars since the killings. One man who was housed next to Kohberger's cell at the Latah County Jail told a detective that Kohberger washed his hands dozens of times each day and spent up to an hour in the shower. He said Kohberger would "be awake almost all night and would only take a nap during the day." Another prisoner at the jail said he often overheard Kohberger on video calls with his mother, according to the police files. One time when Kohberger was talking to his mother, the inmate, who was watching sports, said "'you suck' to one of the players on the team, at which point Kohberger immediately got up and put his face to the bars and aggressively asked if [the inmate] was talking about him or his mother. [The inmate] said this was the only time Kohberger lost his temper," the police report says. Another inmate who encountered Kohberger voiced negative feelings toward him, according to the files. The man called Kohberger a "weirdo" and said "if he wasn't worried about further legal percussions he would have physically assaulted Kohberger," the police document says. When asked by another inmate if he thought Kohberger was guilty of the crimes, he said yes, adding: "His eyes tell a story."
CBS News
30 minutes ago
- CBS News
Family of Chicago journalist killed crossing Hegewisch tracks say not enough has changed 1 year later
Exactly one year ago, a Chicago journalist was killed when she was struck by a South Shore Line train in Hegewisch. On the somber anniversary, her family walked from UChicago Medicine all the way to the South Shore Hegewisch station to show that not enough has changed in the past 12 months. "We really need to take the time to think about what the mission is, and it's passenger and commuter safety on these rail lines," said Mike O'Neill, uncle of Grace Bentkowski. Bentkowski was getting off a South Shore Line train at the Hegewisch stop where there were no crossing arms, no lights and no warning signs. "Just really, really demand that something gets done so again another family after that, will have to go through what we're going through," O'Neill said. Bentkowski was just 22 years old when she died from her injuries at UChicago Medical Center. In the time since her death, O'Neill said the only change that has been made is adding yellow signs that say "See Tracks, Think Train." "We're saying 'See Tracks, Think Grace' right now," He said. "There's been no more lights. No more crossing gates, no more bells, no more anything." Bentkowski's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Metra, which owns a portion of the train station. The lawsuit said passengers getting off eastbound trains at Hegewisch must cross active westbound tracks to reach the station or parking lot. Bentkowski was headed to her car when she was hit. The president of the South Shore train line operator, Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District, told CBS News Chicago that a diagnostic report about the incident is expected to be completed in August. They added, "NICTD intends to pursue all available funding sources for the safety enhancements that come out of the diagnostic report." "Even though Grace is not with us here on this earth right now, she is in heaven and she is directing us and she's gonna win this thing, so nobody else and no other family has to go through the pain that she's seen her father, mother, brother, grandmother and aunts and uncles and all of her loved ones go through," O'Neill said.
