Jessie Phillips Murders Pregnant Wife In Alabama

Jessie Phillips was sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for the murder of his pregnant wife

According to court documents Jessie Phillips would murder Erica Phillips at the Lakeside car wash in Guntersville in 2009

Jessie Phillips would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

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Jessie Phillips Case

On February 27, 2009, Phillips, Erica, and their two children met Erica’s brother, Billy Droze (“Billy”), at a McDonald’s restaurant in Hampton Cove. According to Billy, they all arrived at the McDonald’s restaurant at the same time and Phillips and Erica were driving two separate vehicles—Erica was driving a black Ford Explorer Sport Trac truck and Phillips was driving a black Nissan Maxima car. Billy explained that, before that day, he had not seen the Nissan Maxima. Thereafter, Phillips, Billy, Erica, and the two children entered the McDonald’s restaurant to eat lunch, and they stayed there for approximately 30 to 45 minutes. While at the restaurant, they decided to all drive to the car wash in Guntersville to visit Erica and Billy’s brother, Lance Droze (“Lance”), who was working at the car wash that day.

According to Billy, they left the restaurant driving three separate vehicles—Erica drove the truck, Phillips drove the car, and Billy drove his vehicle—and they all arrived at the car wash at the same time. Billy explained that they parked each of their vehicles in three separate car-wash “bays.” When they arrived at the car wash, Billy saw Lance washing a boat in one of the car-wash bays; he exited his vehicle, walked over to Lance, and told him that they were there to see him. Shortly thereafter, Lance finished washing the boat and hauled it away from the car wash, and Billy walked back to his vehicle.

According to Billy, as he was walking back to his vehicle, he stopped at the car-wash bay in which Erica’s truck was parked. Billy stated that Erica was sitting in the driver’s seat of the truck and that Phillips was sitting in the rear-passenger seat “fiddling with” a gun. (R. 505.) Billy then spoke with Phillips and said, “You guys always need money. Why don’t you let me have that gun and I’ll throw it in this lake and I’ll give you some money .” (R. 505.) Phillips, however, declined to give Billy the gun, and Billy walked back to his vehicle. Soon after, Billy heard Erica yell, “Help me, Bill” (R. 504), and he went back to where Erica had parked her truck. According to Billy, he “got there just in time to see [Phillips] kill her.” (R. 505.)

Billy explained that he saw Phillips and Erica engaged in a “struggle.” According to Billy, Phillips had Erica “in a headlock, pointing [the gun] to her head.” (R. 506.) Although she was able to “break free” from the headlock, within “seconds” of her doing so, Phillips fired one shot at Erica. Billy then grabbed his niece and nephew, who were both nearby when the shooting occurred,1 and Phillips told Billy to “get out of there.” (R. 506.) Billy then put his niece and nephew in his vehicle and drove to get Lance, who, Billy said, was approximately 100 yards away at the Guntersville Boat Mart returning the boat he had just washed. While putting his niece and nephew in his vehicle, Billy saw Phillips drive off in Erica’s truck. Billy told Lance what had happened at the car wash, telephoned for help, and took the children away from the car wash.

Lance then ran toward the car wash and went over to Erica, who was lying on the ground. According to Lance, Erica was lying on her side with her head on her arm, her left eye was swollen, and there was a lot of blood on the ground. Lance explained that Erica could not speak and was having difficulty breathing. Lance “held her for a few minutes, and ․ noticed she was choking and [then] turned her over.” (R. 540.) Soon after, Doug Ware, an investigator with the Guntersville Police Department, arrived at the car wash and told Lance to move.

Investigator Ware explained that he had been dispatched to the car wash with a report that a female had been shot in the head. According to Investigator Ware, when he arrived at the car wash, he saw “three people standing to the left of the car wash on the curb and one person in the bay and someone else laying on the ground, [who] was later [determined] to be Erica. [Investigator Ware] pulled [his] car up in front of the bay that Erica was in and walked up to where [Lance] was.” (R. 580.) Investigator Ware explained that, when he arrived at the crime scene, Erica was lying “pretty much face down on the right side of her face” (R. 583) and that he

“could not really see where blood and everything was coming from, but her left eye was swollen. [Erica] was taking very short breaths, and they were far apart. There was a large amount of blood. And at that time ․ [he] advised [another officer who had arrived on scene] to ’10–17′ the medics, which was [to] hurry them up.”

(R. 584.) According to Investigator Ware, Erica had an entry wound on the right side of her head and her condition appeared to be “very grave.” (R. 585.) Once emergency medical personnel arrived, they began to treat Erica, moved her to an ambulance, and transported her to the hospital. When the ambulance left, Investigator Ware began securing the crime scene.

Erica was transported to the emergency room at Marshall Medical Center North (“MMCN”). Joann Ray, the charge nurse on duty in the emergency room, explained that Erica was unresponsive, which Ray described as having “no spontaneous movement ․ [and] no verbal communication.” (R. 644.) Ray further explained that Erica had a very shallow respiration—“maybe three to six [breaths] a minute.” (R. 645.) According to Ray, it was determined that Erica needed specialized care—specifically, treatment by a neurosurgeon. Because MMCN did not have a neurosurgeon on duty, Erica was transported to a hospital in Huntsville.

At some point shortly after the shooting, John Siggers, an agent with the Marshall County Drug Enforcement Unit, and Tim Abercrombie, a sergeant with the Albertville Police Department, were meeting about “drug unit business” at the Albertville police station. During that meeting, Sgt. Abercrombie received a telephone call from someone with the Guntersville Police Department informing him that they were searching for a homicide suspect and providing Sgt. Abercrombie with a description of both the suspect and the vehicle they believed he was driving. Sgt. Abercrombie then told Agent Siggers that they “were looking for a black Ford Explorer Sport Trac driven by [Phillips], and it was possibly headed to Willow Creek Apartments on Highway 205.” (R. 549.) Thereafter, both Sgt. Abercrombie and Agent Siggers left the Albertville police station to assist in locating Phillips.

Almost immediately after leaving the parking lot of the Albertville police station, Agent Siggers saw a black Ford Explorer Sport Trac. Agent Siggers explained that he

“pulled out behind [the vehicle] to run the tag, and as [he] pulled out behind it, [the vehicle] pulled over into the, up against the curb, a parking spot next to Albertville Police Department. At that time, Mr. Phillips step [ped] out of the vehicle.”

(R. 551.) Agent Siggers explained that Phillips then walked over to the sidewalk “and stood and looked at [him].” (R. 553.) At that point, Agent Siggers got out of his vehicle with his weapon drawn and Phillips put his hands up, walked toward Agent Siggers, and said, “I did it. I don’t want no trouble.” (R. 553.) Agent Siggers then put Phillips “up against the hood of his vehicle to put [hand]cuffs on him,” and, while doing so, Phillips told Agent Siggers that the “gun’s in [his] back pocket.” (R. 554.) Agent Siggers then retrieved the gun from Phillips’s pocket and “cleared the weapon.” (R. 555.) According to Agent Siggers, the gun had “one live round in the chamber and three live rounds in the magazine.” (R. 555.)

Agent Siggers then walked Phillips to the front door of the Albertville police station and sat him down on a brick retaining wall. Thereafter, Benny Womack, the chief of the Albertville Police Department, walked out and asked Agent Siggers what was going on. Agent Siggers told Chief Womack that Phillips was a “suspect” in a homicide that had occurred in Guntersville. Phillips, however, interjected and explained to Agent Siggers and Chief Womack that he “is not a suspect. [He] did it.” (R. 557.) Agent Siggers and Chief Womack then “walked [Phillips] to the jail door of the Albertville Police Department at that point. [They] sat him down on a bench. [Phillips] stayed with Chief Womack. [Agent Siggers then] went to [the] investigation division of the Albertville Police Department and called Investigator [Mike] Turner with the Guntersville Police Department.” (R. 558.)

Investigator Turner responded to the car wash to assist Investigator Ware in processing the crime scene. Shortly after arriving, however, Investigator Turner “found out that [Agent Siggers] had [Phillips] in custody in Albertville.” (R. 619.) Investigator Turner then left the car wash and drove to the Albertville police station. Upon arriving at the Albertville police station, Investigator Turner received from Agent Siggers the gun that had been retrieved from Phillips’s pocket. Thereafter, Investigator Turner and Sgt. Abercrombie read to Phillips his Miranda2 rights, which Phillips waived, and questioned him about the shooting at the car wash.

During that interview,3 Phillips explained the following: Sometime before February 27, 2009, Erica had purchased a used Lexus from a car dealership in New Hope. That car, however, did not work properly, and, on February 27, 2009, Phillips and Erica returned to the car dealership to try to get their money back. The owners of the car dealership, however, refused to give them their money back and, instead, offered to exchange the Lexus for a used Nissan Maxima. Phillips explained that, rather than losing money on the Lexus that did not work properly, he agreed to the exchange and took the Nissan Maxima. According to Phillips, Erica was not happy with the exchange and began arguing with him.

After getting the Nissan Maxima, Erica and Phillips drove to a McDonald’s restaurant to meet Billy. Phillips explained that, while eating at the restaurant, Erica continued to argue with him, saying, “ ‘What the f* * * did you get that Maxima for?’ ‘You dumb-ass n* * * * , I could have just not took nothing and just left the money there and just said f * * it.’ “ (C. 172.)

Phillips explained that, after eating at the McDonald’s restaurant, he, Billy, and Erica decided to go to the car wash to see Lance. Phillips stated that, before leaving the McDonald’s, however, he removed a gun from the glove compartment of Erica’s truck and put it in his pocket. Phillips explained that he did so because neither he nor Erica had a permit for the weapon and he did not want her to be in possession of the gun “in case she got pulled over.” (C. 167.) Erica, Phillips, and Billy then drove in three separate vehicles to the car wash.

According to Phillips, after arriving at the car wash, Erica “just kept on and kept on and kept on and it just happened.” (C. 168.) Phillips explained that Erica was “[s]till pissed about the Maxima. Still calling [him] ‘dumb’ and ‘stupid.’ ‘You shouldn’t have did that.’ “ (C. 177.) Then, Phillips explained, the following occurred:

“And she’s still yelling and cussing and I just said, ‘Why don’t you shut up for a minute and just let it all sink in and calm down and everything.’ And she just kept cussing and calling me names and—

“․

“Well, I had the pistol in my back pocket from when we left McDonald’s.

“․

“I got the pistol in my back pocket. And she just kept on and kept on and kept on and kept on and I just shot her, got in the car and left.

“[Investigator Turner]: Where were you aiming?

“[Phillips]: I wasn’t really I just pointed and pulled the trigger. I don’t—I still don’t know where it hit her. I don’t—I’m guessing it did hit her because she fell.”

(C. 178–80.) Phillips explained that, before he shot her, Erica asked, “ ‘What you going to do Maxima. Still calling [him] ‘dumb’ and ‘stupid.’ ‘You shouldn’t have did that.’ “ (C. 180.) According to Phillips, he did not point the gun at her for a long time; rather, he maintained that he “pulled the trigger, pointed and shot. Put [the gun] back in [his] pocket, got in the truck and left.” (C. 180.) Phillips also explained that he had to step over Erica’s body to get in the truck and leave.

Phillips stated that, after he left the car wash, he went to a Compass Bank and withdrew $160 from his bank account. Thereafter, Phillips drove to the Albertville police station and parked his car out front and turned himself in.

When asked what the shooting was about, Phillips explained:

“Everything. I mean, you just don’t know how it feel to be married to a woman for four years and for the last, I’d say, two years, every day she’s bitching at you about something. She called me a n* * * * . She called me a fa * *t. It—I don’t know, it just all just added up and I could have found a better way to end it, but—“

(C. 165.) Additionally, when asked whether he intended to kill Erica, Phillips stated:

“Like I say, when I pulled that gun out and pointed it at her and pulled the trigger, did I want to kill her? No. Did I pull the trigger? Yes.”

(C. 208–09.)

The next day—February 28, 2009—Investigator Turner conducted a second interview with Phillips. During that second interview, Phillips reiterated the events leading up to the shooting and explained that Erica

“got out of the truck and [he] started walking around towards the end [of the truck] and that’s when [he] pulled the gun out. And [Erica] said, ‘What you doing with that?’ And I really didn’t say nothing and she turned like she was either fixing to walk off or run. I can’t say for sure that she was going to do, but that’s—

“[Investigator Turner]: But she was fixing to do one or the other?

“[Phillips]: Yeah, she was fixing to do one or the other. And I pulled the trigger and walked past her. I walk up to the front of the car wash and I put the gun to my chest, because I really didn’t want to go to jail, but at the same time I couldn’t pull the trigger because it’s not in my beliefs. It’s not something that I want to spend the rest of my life doing.”

(C. 247–48.) Thereafter, Investigator Turner explained to Phillips that Erica had died at approximately 1:00 a.m. and that she had been approximately eight weeks pregnant. Phillips explained that he had learned of the pregnancy a couple of weeks before the shooting when Erica had gone to a doctor who had confirmed that she was pregnant.

On March 2, 2009, Dr. Emily Ward, a state medical examiner at the Huntsville Regional Laboratory of the Department of Forensic Sciences, conducted an autopsy on Erica. Dr. Ward explained that she did both an external and an internal examination of Erica’s body. According to Dr. Ward, the external examination of Erica revealed that she had a “gunshot entry wound on the right side of her head above her right ear and in the scalp” and no exit wound. (R. 656.) Additionally, Dr. Ward stated that Erica’s “left eye was discolored. It was red and protruding through her eyelid.” (R. 658.) Dr. Ward then explained that the internal examination of Erica revealed that

“[t]he bullet went through the right side of her head and then the right side of her brain, and it crossed over what we call the midline and went into the left side of her brain. And then at some point, the core and the jacket separated from one another. The lead piece of metal went through the base of her skull and into her left eye.”

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“Well, both sides of her brain were injured. The right side, the bullet went through the part of her brain that controls movement and then it passed into the left side. But as it did, it went very close to the brain stem. And the brain stem, of course, is the center of breathing and other vital functions. So since the bullet went very close to that, she probably was almost immediately incapacitated by the bullet.”

(R. 660–61.) Dr. Ward further explained that she conducted a “urine pregnancy test” that indicated that Erica was, in fact, pregnant and that she also conducted an internal examination of Erica’s “reproductive organs” that confirmed that Erica was pregnant. According to Dr. Ward, Baby Doe was “growing and alive” at the time of Erica’s death, and, Dr. Ward stated, that Baby Doe could not survive Erica’s death.

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1721284.html