Woman who killed baby in 1986 sentenced to probation in cold case DNA probe

Audio By Carbonatix

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 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 because a peer-reviewed psychological assessment concluded Phillips experienced “extreme emotional distress” at the time of the killing, both the prosecutor and defense lawyer said. Judge Gary White in Stamford, Connecticut, called it a case deserving mercy.

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 remain together and have 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 other relatives, an arrest warrant said. Police said her husband did not know about the baby’s death and had no involvement.

Phillips and her husband have three children who are now adults. One of their sons is disabled and resides at an assistant living facility, while her husband has medical problems and she takes care of him, DeLeo said in an interview.

“Incarcerating her would serve no purpose at this time,” DeLeo said, adding that this case was Phillips' only brush with the law in her life. 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. Under her sentence, if she violates probation she could face up to 20 years in prison.

The newborn child, 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, authorities said. The chief medical examiner’s office determined the baby was strangled shortly after being born and ruled his death a homicide.

Phillips and her family moved to Florida shortly after the baby’s death, police said.

Greenwich police said they used newly available DNA testing in 2020 that linked evidence found at the crime scene to the boy’s mother. Police took items out of the trash and recycling at Phillips' Florida home in 2020. DNA testing showed Phillips and her husband were the parents of the infant, authorities said.