UPDATE 3.18.08 – Kristin Phillips has another notch on her dead baby bedpost. In 1998, a dead baby boy was found in a shoebox in her parents’ basement four months after being born. Kristin was convicted of a misdemeanor at that time. See below for more information.
3/14/08, Fort Leonard Wood, MO – Something very wrong was happening in Kristin Phillips‘ Ft. Leonard Wood home last month. Her husband, Sgt. Jason Phillips, was serving in Iraq. Kristin, 33, was living on base like thousands of other Army wives across the country: holding down the home fort, taking care of the kids. She had four children: daughters aged 14 and 5, a 2 year old son, and eleven-month-old baby Alexis. Now Kristin Phillips has only three children. And just so you know, this might be the worst case I’ve covered since the baby in the carseat.
The affidavit is brutal. On the night of February 21, Alexis Nikohl Emily Phillips was found by EMS and military police in the master bedroom of the family’s home, lying in her mother’s arms. Kristin Phillips appeared to be having seizures but when she woke a few minutes later, she became very agitated and combative while screaming “let me die”, “don’t touch me”, and “I didn’t ask for your help”. Both mother and child were transported to the hospital, where Alexis was pronounced dead at about 10:00 p.m.
My source tells me that the fourteen-year-old daughter called 911 for help, although I don’t have confirmation of that. The same source states that the girl heard her mother screaming in the bedroom and was afraid that Phillips had killed Alexis, so she called, because Phillips had locked herself in the bedroom and wouldn’t come out – facts which are borne out by the affidavit.
Authorities arrived to find Alexis dead – and not a little bit dead. She was beginning to decompose, having been dead at least 24 hours and possibly as long as three days. Her skin was coming off from lying in urine for so long, and the official cause of death for Alexis, who would have turned one this coming Monday, was starvation, dehydration, and possible sepsis. In a corner of the master bedroom, Alexis’ portable crib stood, with blood and urine pooled at the bottom. Autopsy showed that Alexis had not been fed for at least 24 hours prior to her death.
In another room, police found the two year old son, who had to have layers of feces removed from his skin and whose diaper had “cumulative layers” of fecal matter in it. The house stunk of urine and feces, and spoiled food and dirty laundry were everywhere. Fortunately, the toddler boy survived, and he and the surviving daughters were removed from the home by the Department of Social Services. Jason Phillips has since returned from Iraq.
Kristin Phillips’ Myspace has multiple pictures of her children, but this is the one that gets me: little Alexis of the beautiful smile. How do you ignore this baby until she’s dead?
Kristin Phillips was in federal court on Thursday, charged with killing her daughter by child abuse. The case is federal because Alexis was killed on a military base. If convicted, Phillips could face the death penalty.
UPDATE 3/1/8/08 – The Springfield News-Leader broke the story this morning that Kristin Phillips has yet another dead baby in her past, when her last name was Matheny. That baby, Austin Daniel Matheny, was born in her parents’ basement when Kristin Matheny (now Phillips) was 23 years old. She already had two daughters, aged three adn five, at that time. Kristin concealed the pregnancy, gave birth in the home, then tied the baby’s umbilical cord off with pantyhose and put him in a shoebox with a stuffed toy and an air freshener. Four months later, her mother found the box, confronted Kristin, and called police.
Kristin Matheny (Phillips) was convicted only of failing to report a death at that time and received a little jail time and a couple of years of probation. The three-year-old girl’s father sued for, and won, sole custody based on that case. The five-year-old is probably the same child who was in the home last month – she’d be fourteen now. Explains a lot more about that child’s behavior in the face of this insanity – she’s lived with it all her life. I’ll continue to update as information becomes available.
JakobsMommy hit this in the forums, too.
Original post March 14, 2008 – updated March 18, 2008
Tags: Child Abuse
PREVIOUS ARTICLE
Steve & Sarah Fee Like The Color Green
NEXT ARTICLE
Stephanie Leblanc-Porter Is One Evil Bitch