Carol Phillips
Appearances
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
My mother, my father, my sister, and myself came in and sat. And they said that they were reopening the case, and we were excited about it.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
And then we'd get called in here and there, whatever. But my father had enough, you know, two years would go by and then they'd call us in again. And then months would go by and then they'd call us in again and then three years would go by.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
I said to Officer McCoy, I looked at him one of the last times I saw him, and I said, I believe that Richard, Diane, and Ronnie hold the key.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
I just, the biggest thing for me is just being able to say, John didn't rob that house. He didn't steal the guns. He didn't kill himself. He didn't do any of that stuff. This is what happened. You know, I just would like to clear my brother's name on that stuff. That's all I'm looking for. Not looking for anything else. just to clear his name.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
And my message is, and I mean this with all my heart, I swear, and I absolutely mean it a hundred percent. If someone came forth right now and said to me, Carol, this is what happened. I'm so sorry. I know it's been a long time. I know your family's been hurt. You know, it's I literally would thank them, give them a hug, and tell them, it's all right. I appreciate you telling me.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
That's all I wanted. I'm not looking for someone to be in trouble.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
He told me a year before he died, don't you ever hold a grudge. It's poison to your soul. Grudges just eat at your soul. I don't hold a grudge with anybody. I would love for someone to just to come to me and tell me. And I really mean that. I live by this, you know, and I really mean that when I say it would be the best gift just to know.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
So I got my mother. I knew something was wrong. At 17, I knew something was wrong. It's 7 o'clock in the morning, and they need a parent. They need an adult, and I just knew it. They said that we have a body, you know, we believe it to be your son.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
He loved, loved life. He loved friends. He loved people. He loved life. The elderly lady in the neighborhood, he mowed her lawn, he fixed her fence. He would do anything for anyone. He was just really kind, you know, really helpful and just, he was a really good kid.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
She said that he didn't have any drugs in his system, that he had the equivalency of one wine cooler in his system, that he could not have pulled the trigger because the gun had never been fired. If he had pulled the trigger, he would have had residue on his hands.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
There's no way John did that. No way. I knew he didn't steal those guns. John's not going to do that. He's going to get in trouble if he does that. He's going to walk in with a bunch of guns. He's going to get arrested. He'll go to jail. That wasn't what path he was on.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
Richard was a troublemaker. I never liked him. He was very sketchy. He doesn't say much. He just really just stands, smokes his cigarettes. I don't know. There was just something about him I wasn't crazy about. And I'm still not. Ronnie was a punk. He wasn't a nice kid. He was not.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
I was told by Diane that John was swinging a handgun while Diane and Ronnie were sitting on the sofa and Ronnie got mad at John. I said, that's a lie because John wouldn't swing a handgun around. He wouldn't swing a handgun. John had a lot of common sense.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
Diane asked Richard, where did John go? Richard said, he's passed out downstairs on the floor in the basement. Now that right there is a complete lie. A complete lie. A, he had a wine cooler in his system. B, John never passed out because he never got so, John never really got intoxicated. He might drink four or five beers and get like giggly and laughing and have fun.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
That's what he was about, having a good time and having fun. Not about getting in trouble, not about people getting hurt. That's not what John was about at all. He did not pass out on the basement floor. Then she asked again where John was and Richard said, oh, he left.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
My father asked Diane's mother, what time did Diane get home that night? Because she said she got home at 9 o'clock. That's what she told the police. She said Diane got home late.
The Deck
John Phillips (Jack of Diamonds, Rhode Island)
So my brother had long socks on with Reebok sneakers and fuzzy laces kind of that you would pick stuff up on. My father had the same sneakers. My father put the same pair of socks on, and he walked the tracks. By the time he got to where they lived, his laces and his socks were covered in those burrs, covered.