DNA Cracks Cold Case of Mom Who Killed Baby in 1986

A woman who killed her infant son in 1986 in Connecticut and went on to live a seemingly quiet, normal life with her family in Florida for more than three decades was sentenced Tuesday to five years of probation. Janita Phillips, 65, of Lake Mary, Florida, was charged with murder in 2021, after police said new DNA testing linked her to the crime. She pleaded guilty to a lesser manslaughter charge in April. The probation sentence was unusual in a child homicide case but warranted—a peer-reviewed psychological assessment concluded Phillips experienced "extreme emotional distress" at the time of the killing, according to both the prosecutor and defense lawyer. Judge Gary White in Stamford, Connecticut, called it a case deserving mercy, reports the AP.

When Phillips killed the infant, she and her husband had just moved into an apartment in Greenwich, Connecticut, with their eldest child after being homeless, and her husband had told her he didn't want another baby, her lawyer, Stephen DeLeo, said. The couple, who've been married for 42 years, were stressed about money and their ability to feed their family, DeLeo said. Phillips told police she hid the pregnancy from her husband and relatives, an arrest warrant said. Phillips and her husband have three children who are now adults. One of their sons is disabled and resides at an assisted living facility, while her husband has medical problems and she takes care of him, DeLeo said.

"Incarcerating her would serve no purpose at this time," DeLeo said, adding that this was Phillips' only brush with the law. He also said she lost her insurance industry job because of the case. Phillips cried during the sentencing hearing and said she had a "deep sense of regret." She also said she took full responsibility, DeLeo said. The newborn, named Baby John by police, was found dead in a garbage truck on May 16, 1986, after workers had emptied a dumpster at the apartment building in Greenwich where Phillips lived. The medical examiner's office determined the baby was strangled shortly after being born. Greenwich police used DNA testing in 2020 that linked evidence found at the crime scene to the boy's mother.