Josh Phillips (murderer)

Joshua Earl Patrick Phillips (born March 17, 1984) is an American murderer from Jacksonville, Florida. He was convicted in July 1999 of murdering 8-year-old Maddie Clifton in November 1998 when he was 14 years old. He is currently serving a sentence of life in prison.[1] The murder was the subject of national television coverage, including a documentary on 48 Hours titled "Why did Josh Kill?"[2]

For other people named Josh Phillips, see Josh Phillips (disambiguation).
Joshua Phillips
Phillips in a mugshot in 2009
Born
Joshua Earl Patrick Phillips

(1984-03-17) March 17, 1984
Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesJosh
CitizenshipAmerican
EducationBlackstone Career Institute
Criminal statusIncarcerated at the Cross City Correctional Institution
Parent(s)Melissa Phillips and Steve Phillips
MotiveObsession, possibly for sexual pleasure
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment (eligible for re-sentencing in 2023)
Details
VictimsMaddie Clifton
DateNovember 3, 1998
Location(s)Jacksonville, Florida
WeaponsBaseball bat
Knife
Date apprehended
November 10, 1998
Imprisoned atCross City Correctional Institution

Early life

Phillips was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania on March 17, 1984. His father, Steve Phillips, had dominated his wife and son with a violent temper. In Too Young to Kill: 15 Shocking Crimes, Josh stated that at one point in his life, he walked into his parents’ room and saw his father's fist smashed through a wall, which made him terrified of his father. Steve imposed strict rules on his son, and was also a drug addict and alcoholic.

The disappearance

On November 3, 1998, at around 5:00 pm, Maddie Clifton disappeared. The first suspect was a neighbor who was arrested twice around 15 to 20 years earlier for sexual assault cases, but charges were dropped in both incidents. The neighbor failed a lie detector test in relation to Maddie's disappearance, but provided an alibi.[3] The police decided to call off the search for Maddie, but the community, including over 400 volunteers, persisted. A reward was offered, initially worth $50,000 but later doubled.[4] One of those volunteers was Phillips himself. The FBI later became involved in the case. Flyers were distributed around town, including at a local Jaguars-Bengals game. The TV series America's Most Wanted also offered to broadcast the story.[5]

Murder case

The search ended a week after the disappearance when Phillips' mother Melissa went to clean his room and found that his waterbed seemed to be leaking. Upon further examination, she discovered Maddie's body hidden inside the base of the waterbed. She promptly ran outside her home and went across the street to get the police. Phillips was arrested later that day at his school and was held in maximum security as he made his first court appearance. It was determined that Clifton's cause of death was due to stabbing and clubbing with a baseball bat.[6]

Phillips stated that the event happened when he was home alone and Maddie came to his house asking him to come outside and play baseball. Phillips agreed, even though he was not allowed to have friends over while his parents were not home. As the two were playing baseball, Maddie threw the ball at him and he hit it, which caused the ball to hit Maddie's eye. She then began to bleed, cry, and scream. Knowing that his father would be home soon, Phillips panicked, fearing his father's reaction when he got home, so he decided to drag Maddie into his house and took her to his room where he proceeded to strangle her with a phone cord for approximately 15 minutes. Soon after, he hit her again with the baseball bat and stuffed her under the base of his bed. When Josh's father returned home, he went to interact with him for a while and returned to his room. When he discovered that Maddie was still alive, moaning under his bed, he then removed the mattress and stabbed her 11 times, killing her.[7]

Phillips' trial was held in Polk County, Florida, and he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was not eligible for the death penalty since he was under 16 when he committed the murder.[8] While the autopsy did not reveal any sexual assault, Maddie's body was found naked from waist down, as Phillips stated that her clothes came off while he was dragging her body to his room.[9]

The murder is said to have been motivated by Phillips' fear of his abusive and alcoholic father, who would have been very angry if he found Maddie in their house. Despite detectives finding explicit material on his personal computer and a picture of Maddie’s sister on his nightstand that he had previously stolen from the Clifton household. [10] Phillips stated on the TV program Too Young to Kill: 15 Shocking Crimes that if he could take it back, he would, subsequently breaking down into tears.[11] Phillips attended Blackstone Career Institute, a distance learning program and graduated with a paralegal degree in 2007.[12] He works as a paralegal, helping other inmates with their appeals.[10] Sometime after the trial, Maddie Clifton's parents, Steve and Sheila Clifton, divorced after 25 years of marriage.[13] In 2000, Phillips' father Steve was killed in a car accident.[14]

Appeals

In 2002, an appeals court upheld Phillips' conviction.[15] In December 2004, Melissa Phillips began to seek a new trial for her son, noting that his young age at the time of the murder should have carried more weight in his sentence.[16][17] In 2005, new hearing dates were set for Phillips.[18] In 2008, two of the officials behind his sentence, States Attorney Harry Shorstein and Sheriff Nat Glover, confirmed their belief that Phillips deserved a jail sentence, but admitted to having second thoughts about the no-parole life sentence for the 14 year old.[10] In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sentencing juveniles to mandatory life in prison without parole is unconstitutional. It was unclear at that time if Phillips' attorney would seek re-sentencing.[19]

In November 2015, Phillips' attorneys were considering the Supreme Court ruling as a basis to file a re-sentencing hearing.[20] In September 2016, after Phillips' attorneys successfully appealed the court, he was granted a new sentencing hearing as a result of retroactive application of the Supreme Court's ruling which declared his current sentence, mandatory life in prison without parole, unconstitutional for juvenile offenders. A resentencing date was initially set for February 2017.[21] In February 2017, Phillips' lawyer asked for more time to prepare,[22] and subsequently a new sentencing hearing was set for June 2017.[23] At the hearing, Clifton's mother requested that his sentence be upheld. On November 17, 2017, Phillips was re-sentenced to life in prison, but is eligible for re-sentencing again in 2023.[24] On December 17, 2019, this sentence of life in prison was upheld by Florida First District Court Of Appeal because, it said, Phillips’ life sentence will be reviewed again and could be modified at a 25-year review “based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation.” He is currently imprisoned in the Cross City Correctional Institution.[25]

In the media

The murder of Maddie Clifton was featured on the Season 2 premiere of Killer Kids. Phillips was interviewed by British journalist Susanna Reid for the ITV documentary Children Who Kill.[26][27] Maddie's murder and Phillips' ensuing trial were featured in two episodes of Morbid: A True Crime Podcast, released on July 13, 2019 and January 25, 2020, respectively.[28] Maddie's murder and Phillips' trial were also featured in episode 112 of the podcast Sword and Scale on August 19, 2018.[29]

See also

References
  1. CBSNews.com Staff (2009-02-11). "Why Did Josh Kill?, When A 'Good' Kid Commits A Brutal Crime". CBS News. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  2. Charlie Patton (1999-10-07). "Maddie Clifton story examined on '48 Hours'". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  3. Staff at WJXT (1998-11-06). "Lakewood 8-year-old missing; last seen Tuesday in her yard". Maddieclifton.org (archivist). WJXT News4Jax.com. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  4. Staff at WJXT and Associated Press (1998-11-07). "After three days, girl still missing; reward doubled". Maddieclifton.org (archivist). WJXT News4Jax.com. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  5. Staff at WJXT and Associated Press (1998-11-09). "Search for missing 8-year-old girl intensifies; FBI to get involved". Maddieclifton.org (archivist). WJXT News4Jax.com. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  6. Staff at WJXT and Associated Press (1998-11-10). "Body of missing 8-year-old found in boy's bedroom across street". Maddieclifton.org (archivist). WJXT News4Jax.com. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  7. Staff at WJXT and Ron Word at Associated Press (1998-11-11). "14-year-old neighbor charged with murder in stabbing of Maddie Clifford". Maddieclifton.org (archivist). WJXT News4Jax.com. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  8. Staff at WJXT and Associated Press (1998-11-03). "Jury finds Phillips guilty of first-degree murder". Maddieclifton.org (archivist). WJXT News4Jax.com. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  9. Staff at WJXT (2008-10-30). "Boy Grows Up In Prison After Killing Young Neighbor". WJXT News4Jax.com. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  10. Paul Pinkham (2008-11-02). "THE MADDIE CLIFTON SAGA: Her killer fights back tears when asked about Maddie and her family". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  11. "Too Young to Kill: 15 Shocking Crimes". E! Entertainment Television. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20131221052223/http://freejosh.com/Pictures/josh%27s%20paralegal%20diploma.jpg. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. Rebecca Leung (2007-12-05). "Caged Kids: Life Sentence, 14-Year-Old Charged As An Adult For Killing His Playmate". CBS News. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  14. Jim Schoettler and Kathleen Sweeney (2000-06-28). "Josh Phillips' father killed in wreck". The Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on 2000-10-28. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  15. Conviction, Sentence Upheld For Maddie's Killer Archived October 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  16. "Mother Of Convicted Killer Wants New Trial For Son". WJXT News4Jax.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  17. "New Trial Sought In 1998 Slaying Of Maddie Clifton". WJXT News4Jax.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  18. "Local News | Jacksonville, FL - St. Augustine, FL - Brunswick, GA". WTLV First Coast News. 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  19. Staff writers at WJXT and Associated Press (2012-06-25). "Supreme Court ruling affects child killer's sentence". WJXT News4Jax.com. Retrieved 2012-06-25.
  20. Samantha Manning (2015-11-03). "Maddie Clifton's family worries her killer could be set free". WJAX-TV. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  21. News4Jax.com Staff (2016-09-07). "Maddie Clifton's killer to be resentenced in February". WJAX-TV.
  22. News4Jax.com Staff (2017-01-17). "Resentencing of inmate convicted of murder at 14 delayed". WJAX-TV.
  23. Eileen Kelly (2017-03-15). "Joshua Phillips due for new sentencing hearing in June for Maddie Clifton case". The Florida Times Union.
  24. Chris Parenteau (2017-08-11). "After 4-day hearing, Josh Phillips returning to prison". News4Jax.
  25. http://www.dc.state.fl.us/offenderSearch/detail.aspx?Page=Detail&DCNumber=J11775&TypeSearch=AI
  26. Children Who Kill - Thursday 15 Feb 9pm https://www.itv.com/hub/children-who-kill/2a5251a0001
  27. Children Who Kill: Susanna Reid meets notorious US criminal Joshua Phillips https://www.standard.co.uk/stayingin/tvfilm/children-who-kill-susanna-reid-meets-notorious-us-criminal-joshua-phillips-a3767896.html
  28. "Morbid: A True Crime Podcast: Episode 80: The Murder of Maddie Clifton "Mini" Morbid on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  29. http://swordandscale.com/sword-and-scale-episode-112/
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