Background: News footage of the Sissonville, W.Va., neighborhood where Joanna Lynn Phillips was found dead on Dec. 20 (WSAZ). Inset: Jason Joe Phillips (Kanawha County Sheriff”s Office).
Jason Joe Phillips, 46, faces first-degree murder charges following the death of his wife, 46-year-old Joanna Lynn Phillips. The incident occurred in their home during the early hours of Saturday morning. According to the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, Jason Phillips himself contacted 911 to report the shooting in their kitchen. Local NBC affiliate WSAZ obtained the 911 call, during which Phillips stated that he was “just fighting with her” and had reached a point where he was “just tired of it.”
An affidavit from WSAZ reveals that Jason Phillips allegedly fired a single shotgun blast into Joanna Phillips’s chest. Police were dispatched to their residence in Sissonville, West Virginia, following the 911 call made shortly before 3 a.m. Upon their arrival, Phillips reportedly explained that his wife had “pushed him to the limit” before he allegedly shot her.
Authorities apprehended Jason Phillips without any confrontation and he is currently held in the South Central Regional Jail with no opportunity for bail. Joanna Phillips was pronounced dead at the scene.
WSAZ also disclosed that Jason Phillips had been involved in two previous domestic abuse incidents before the alleged shooting. In December 2021, police were called to their home after Joanna Phillips reported that Jason had pointed a gun at her head and hit her in the mouth with it, threatening her life. At that time, he faced charges of domestic assault, domestic battery, and brandishing a weapon, but these charges were dismissed with prejudice in March 2022.
WSAZ reported that Jason Phillips had two previous charges of domestic abuse-related incidents prior to Saturday’s alleged shooting. In December 2021, police responded to the couple’s home after Joanna Phillips told officers that Jason Phillips held a gun to her head and struck her in the mouth with it. He also threatened to kill her. Jason Phillips was charged with domestic assault, domestic battery, and brandishing, but those charges were dismissed with prejudice in March 2022.
In March 2025, Joanna Phillips called police on her husband again, telling officers that he had physically attacked her at their home after they got home from a night at the bar. He was charged with domestic battery, and he was scheduled for a bench trial in connection with those charges in January 2026.
Jason Phillips was charged with first-degree murder and remains in custody. He is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 29.
