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Background: Marketta Phillips during her March 27 court appearance (KTNV). Inset: Phalan Whitson and Jeremy Ross, the parents of alleged victim Journei Ross (KTNV).
A Nevada woman who had been trusted to watch her roommate’s 3-year-old daughter is now charged with her murder.
Marketta Phillips, age 41, appeared in a Las Vegas court on Thursday with charges of open murder against her. At a press conference covered by KTNV, the ABC affiliate, Robert Price, the Homicide Lieutenant with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, revealed that police were called in the early hours of March 26 by a father who reported that “the babysitter had just stabbed his child.”
The child’s father, Jeremy Ross, informed the officers that the babysitter — Phillips — had left the scene on foot. Upon arrival, Price noted that the young girl had suffered from “several stab wounds.”
After first responders performed lifesaving measures, the little girl, identified as Journei Ross, was transported to the hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Price stated that officers located Phillips and took her into custody without incident. He called the alleged murder an isolated incident, but noted its “tragic and unfortunate” nature. While Price did not state the relationship between Ross and Phillips, both Ross and the girl’s mother, Phalan Whitson, spoke outside the courtroom where Phillips made her first appearance.
Recounting the tragic evening to reporters, Ross told WTNV that he’d been at work on the night of March 25 while Phillips watched his daughter, which she had done “numerous times” before. When he arrived home after 3 a.m. the next morning, he noticed that Phillips had blood on her arms and then immediately went to check on his daughter.
In a harrowing 911 call obtained by CBS affiliate KLAS, Ross can be heard crying, “You killed my [expletive] child!” and “My baby is not breathing. My baby just bled all over the goddamn bed. What the f— did you do?”
Ross told KTNV that he had been living with Phillips for a year. He told the station, “I didn’t know she was a crazy case, you know?”
Ross shared custody of Journei with Whitson, who told reporters that she had never met Phillips before seeing her in the courtroom. Whitson said, “I didn’t know this woman. Today was literally the first day I’ve ever seen this woman in my life. This is crazy, she took my baby.”
Phillips is being held at Clark County Detention Center without bail. Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 1.
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