Joshua Phillips was fourteen years old when he would murder eight year old Maddie Clifton in Florida
According to court documents Joshua Phillips was living in Jacksonville Florida and was friends with eight year old Maddie Clifton. On November 3 1998 Maddie would come to the Phillips household and asked Joshua to play baseball.
According to Joshua the two were playing baseball in the backyard when he accidentally struck Maddie in the eye. In order to get the eight year old to stop crying he would drag the little girl into his bedroom. During this process Maddie Clifton clothes would come off.
Joshua Phillips would strike the little girl with a baseball bat then hid her body underneath his waterbed. Phillips would spend time with his father before returning to his room to discover that Maddie Clifton was still alive. Joshua would pull her body out and stab the eight year old girl multiple times in the chest and placing her back underneath the mattress
Maddie Clifton would be reported missing later that day. The entire neighborhood would be searched for the next six days
Joshua Philips mother would enter his room and notice a strange puddle underneath his waterbed. Under further investigation she would discover the body of Maddie Clifton
Joshua Phillips would be arrested, convicted and ultimately sentenced to life in prison
Joshua Phillips Current Information
| DC Number: | J11775 |
|---|---|
| Name: | PHILLIPS, JOSHUA E |
| Race: | WHITE |
| Sex: | MALE |
| Birth Date: | 03/17/1984 |
| Initial Receipt Date: | 08/26/1999 |
| Current Facility: | OUT OF DEPT. CUSTODY BY COURT ORDER |
| Current Custody: | CLOSE |
| Current Release Date: | SENTENCED TO LIFE |
Joshua Phillips Case
A Jacksonville man who committed one of the city’s most notorious murders when he was 14 years old appeared in court Tuesday to begin the process of having his life sentence reviewed.
The attorney for Joshua Phillips, 41, who killed his 8-year-old neighbor Maddie Clifton in November 1998, said he received discovery materials from the State and is going through the review process. He is hoping to complete his review by the end of the new year.
The hearing came about four months after Phillips appeared before a judge to have his life sentence reviewed. However, his attorney had requested to push back the hearing.
Back in June, the family of Maddie Clifton spoke up about the sentence review for her killer.
“Maddie didn’t get a second chance. She didn’t get to grow up, graduate, fall in love, or have a family of her own. Maddie’s sentence was final. Her killer’s should be, too,” Jessie Clifton, Maddie’s older sister, said.
Phillips was 14 years old when he hit Maddie repeatedly with a baseball bat, slit her throat and hid her body in the frame of his water bed. Police, family and strangers searched for Maddie for a week.
Clifton said she will testify at Phillips’ sentence review and will read a victim impact statement.
“This time, I’m really going to sit down and I’m going to take my time and I’m going to write something that’s, that’s going to hopefully make him feel… I mean, I guess that’s not the goal, really, to make him feel bad. That’s not my intention. But I want him to see how bad I’m hurting and that I don’t really care that he’s hurting or wants to get out of jail. So, my hurt is forever. His should be also,” Clifton said.
In a statement to News4JAX, Clifton’s mother, Sheila DeLongis, said Phillips “knew what he was doing” when he killed Maddie.
“Maddie didn’t get a second chance. She didn’t get to grow up, graduate, fall in love, or have a family of her own. Maddie’s sentence was final. Her killer’s should be, too,” DeLongis wrote.
Maddie’s murder left Northeast Florida stunned.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney was a patrol sergeant during the search for Maddie. He said he spoke with Phillips the day before Maddie was found — in the very bedroom where she was hidden.
Hackney called the interaction “chilling.”
“He was cool as a cucumber. He was absolutely not shocked. Our engagement with him was actually in the bedroom where she was recovered, and he sat on the bed, petting his dog, and just was as unemotional, unaffected by law enforcement being in his house. It’s chilling, thinking about it now,” Hackney said.
A year after the crime, Phillips was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In 2017, Phillips was resentenced following a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that found mandatory life sentences for juveniles unconstitutional. Despite the resentencing, Phillips received another life sentence, with the possibility of review after 25 years.
Phillips told police Maddie’s death started as an accident, but escalated to murder because he was afraid of his abusive father. As part of a sentencing review, his attorneys will try to make their case.
“He knew how badly she was hurt, and he could have gotten help twice, and she was still alive. And that to me, I just, I can’t see past child brain, adult brain, alien brain. I don’t, I don’t care. I truly do not. I think you know right from wrong,” Clifton said.
Phillips is expected to go back to court on Dec. 16 for an update on where both sides stand regarding his sentence review.
Judge to review life sentence of man who killed 8-year-old girl in 1998
Joshua Phillips News
The murder of 8-year-old Maddie Clifton in November 1998 left Northeast Florida stunned.
The then 14-year-old Joshua Phillips, Clifton’s neighbor, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole a year later.
In 2017, Phillips was resentenced following a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that found mandatory life sentences for juveniles unconstitutional. Despite the resentencing, Phillips received another life sentence.
Court documents filed in May show Phillips is formally applying for a sentence review, citing the completion of his 25-year mandatory term. In his filing, Phillips states that he is acting “in good faith” and requests the opportunity to “present witnesses” during the review process.
As of Monday, Phillips was being held in the Duval County jail after being transported from Suwannee County Correctional on Friday afternoon.
Veteran prosecutor of the 4th Judicial Circuit, Bernie de la Rionda, handled the 2017 resentencing. Though he was not involved in the original prosecution, de la Rionda remembers the emotion of Clifton’s case.
“This is one of those cases that stands out in terms of the impact on the community,” de la Rionda said. “I am so sorry that the victim’s family has had, is having to go through this again.“
Phillips’ request for a sentence review is in line with legal provisions allowing for such reviews after 25 years.
De la Rionda noted that during the 2017 resentencing, the judge determined that Phillips should remain in prison for life, but acknowledged his entitlement to a review.
During the 2017 resentencing proceedings, Phillips addressed Clifton’s family directly.
“I don’t pretend to know or understand your pain,” Phillips said. “Or to grasp the void that I’ve created in your lives.”
Phillips has requested a public defender and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday at 9 a.m. The court may set another date for further proceedings at that time.
Efforts to reach Maddie Clifton’s family for comment have been unsuccessful, but any response will be included in future updates.
