Community Corner
Former Policeman Found Guilty of Murder in Deaths of Woman and Child in Pr. George's
A former officer shot his mistress in the head and drove their baby daughter to an apartment complex where he left her in a hot car to die, according to prosecutors.
A former Washington DC police officer was found guilty of two counts of first degree murder on Thursday in the 2011 deaths of the mother of his child and of their 11-month old daughter in Prince George's County, prosecutors said in a news release.
Richmond Diallo Phillips, 40, killed Wynetta Wright, 20, and their daughter Jaylin to avoid paying child support argued Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks, The Washinton Times reported.
It took a jury less than two hours of deliberation to convict Phillips. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 22 and faces double life without parole plus 20 years, prosecutors stated.
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Phillips lured Wright—described as his mistress by prosectors—to the Hillcrest Heights Community Center late at night on May 30, 2011, in an attempt to dissuade her from pursuing a paternity hearing scheduled for the next day, according to prosecutors. But he had it in mind to kill her and their child if he could not change her mind, they argued.
Phillips shot Wright in the head and dragged her body into the nearby woods, prosecutors said. He then drove her vehicle to a nearby apartment complex where he left his child strapped in a car seat to die, according to prosecutors. Temperatures inside reached 125 degrees, according to witness testimony, prosecutors said.
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Phillips was arrested in June 2011 after Wright was found on June 2 in Oxon Run Stream Valley Park, according to Prince George's County police.
“Police officers are sworn to protect our children,” said Alsobrooks, the county's state's attorney. “In this case, not only did Mr. Phillips fail to protect his own child, he took her life and the life of her mother so he could continue to live his selfish lifestyle.”
This was the first case Alsobrooks personally prosecuted as state's attorney since being elected to the office in 2010, according to John Erzen, state's attorney spokesman. Alsobrooks had prosecuted other cases prior to her election, he said.
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