Father of Maddie Clifton Murderer Dies
Patty
Maggie posted a story:
: Father of Teen Who Killed Jacksonville Neighbor Dies in Wreck
: The Associated Press
:
: JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Steve Phillips, the father of a Jacksonville
: teen-ager who killed 8-year-old neighbor Maddie Clifton in 1998, died in a
: one-vehicle accident near Tallahassee.
: Phillips, father of 16-year-old Joshua Phillips, was killed at about 11:15
p.m.
: Tuesday about 10 miles south of Tallahassee, said Lt. Bill Leeper of the
: Florida Highway Patrol.
They just repeated that story last week on 48 Hours. It was stated that
Joshua was not to have kids in the house and strongly feared his father.
At the end, Joshua's parents said they partially blamed Maddie because
she wouldn't leave when asked.
I was really impressed by Maddie's slightly older sister. I think her
parents appear
to be doing a good job and one can only wonder what Maddie would have
been like as she grew up.
Maggie
the AP:
Jun 28, 2000 - 05:03 PM
Father of Teen Who Killed Jacksonville Neighbor Dies in Wreck
The Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Steve Phillips, the father of a Jacksonville
teen-ager who killed 8-year-old neighbor Maddie Clifton in 1998, died in a
one-vehicle accident near Tallahassee.
Phillips, father of 16-year-old Joshua Phillips, was killed at about 11:15 p.m.
Tuesday about 10 miles south of Tallahassee, said Lt. Bill Leeper of the
Florida Highway Patrol.
Police said Phillips, 50, was driving his van on County Road 267 when the
vehicle veered off the right shoulder. Phillips apparently overcorrected and
the van went back across the road to the opposite shoulder and overturned.
Phillips was thrown out and died at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt.
Phillips became a public figure in the defense of his son, who was convicted
last July of first-degree murder in Maddie's slaying.
Maddie, who lived across the street from the Josh Phillips and his parents,
disappeared Nov. 3, 1998 from the front yard of her home.
The disappearance sparked a massive search involving police, hundreds of
volunteers and Josh Phillips. The girl's body was found under Joshua Phillips'
water bed by his mother on Nov. 10.
Joshua Phillips was sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of parole.
He is serving his sentence in the Wakulla Correctional Institution near
Tallahassee.
An official with the Florida Department of Corrections said Joshua Phillips'
mother would have to make a request to the warden for her son to attend the
funeral.
The Phillips family still lives across the street from the Cliftons, but
neighbors said the Phillips' came and went between Jacksonville and an
apartment in Tallahassee.
AP-ES-06-28-00 1658EDT
Maggie
"There are lots of people who mistake their imagination for their memory."
Josh Billings
Maggie
>
>: Father of Teen Who Killed Jacksonville Neighbor Dies in Wreck
>: The Associated Press
>:
>: JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Steve Phillips, the father of a Jacksonville
>: teen-ager who killed 8-year-old neighbor Maddie Clifton in 1998, died
>in a
>: one-vehicle accident near Tallahassee.
>: Phillips, father of 16-year-old Joshua Phillips, was killed at about 11:15
>p.m.
>: Tuesday about 10 miles south of Tallahassee, said Lt. Bill Leeper of the
>: Florida Highway Patrol.
>
>They just repeated that story last week on 48 Hours. It was stated that
>Joshua was not to have kids in the house and strongly feared his father.
>At the end, Joshua's parents said they partially blamed Maddie because
>she wouldn't leave when asked.
***Yech. Didn't know that.
There's a 14yo boy in my neighborhood who reminds me very much of this Joshua
Phillips. He is very large--sort of hulking--and has always enjoyed playing
with younger children. But he's mean to them--one time tearing up a Pokeymon
card in front of a couple of 6yo's because they wouldn't do what he wanted them
to. He's been seen mooning the children next door from his bedroom window and
pulled down the pants of the 2yo in that family. More than once, the mother
next door to him has found him, uninvited, in her house. He goes to a special
school for children with "problems," but so do lots of other kids whose only
problems are attention deficit disorder or auditory processing difficulties.
He doesn't appear to have any friends his own age. My children aren't allowed
to do anything other than say hello to him and I have explained exactly why.
But I think other neighbors are afraid of appearing rude or uncaring and
actually allow their kids to play with him. His older sister is everyone's
favorite babysitter and his parents are popular, normal people. I think these
neighbors are nuts and I'm scared to death something awful may happen.
Anyway, I'm sincerely hoping that Maddie's parents didn't encourage her to play
with and be friendly with this child in order to be kind. But I think it's a
strong possibility.
Patty
> >Maggie posted a story:
> >
> >: Father of Teen Who Killed Jacksonville Neighbor Dies in Wreck
> >: The Associated Press
> >:
> >: JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Steve Phillips, the father of a
Jacksonville
> >: teen-ager who killed 8-year-old neighbor Maddie Clifton in 1998,
died in a one-vehicle accident near Tallahassee.
> >: Phillips, father of 16-year-old Joshua Phillips, was killed at
about 11:15 p.m.
> >: Tuesday about 10 miles south of Tallahassee, said Lt. Bill Leeper
of the : Florida Highway Patrol.
> >
> patty said:
> >They just repeated that story last week on 48 Hours. It was stated
that
> >Joshua was not to have kids in the house and strongly feared his
father.
> >At the end, Joshua's parents said they partially blamed Maddie
because she wouldn't leave when asked.
I thought it odd, too, that a 14-year old would be playing with younger
kids, as usually teens want to only associate with other teens. It
didn't sound, though, like her parents encouraged the sisters to be
with friendly with Josh. They showed a video of the sisters on their
bikes talking to Josh as he was in his yard. The girls apparently
liked him, and nothing seemed odd about his behavior.
During the trial, Josh had a brain scan, which showed some
abnormality. At first it was going to be introduced at the trial but
his attorneys chose not to use it, and plead guilty.
After the trial,it was discovered that he had been viewing pornography
on the internet just prior to Maddie's arrival at his house. They
didn't seem to think the attack on Maddie was sexual but they think the
pornography, coupled with the abnormal brain scan, may have triggered
Josh's violent side.
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