thedrifter
09-28-08, 06:50 AM
Prostitute may have lured Marine to his death
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September 28, 2008 - 12:27AM
LINDELL KAY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
A path behind People's Auto Parts on U.S. 17 near Court Street provided hotel housekeepers a shortcut during lunch breaks in 1975 and allowed hookers to sneak johns past the Jacksonville Police Department to hotel rooms at night.
Those paths crossed Oct. 23 of that year when housekeepers found the badly beaten body of a Camp Lejeune Marine who investigators believe was lured to his death by a prostitute.
Pfc. Robert C. Phillips, 22, died of head injuries, according to his death certificate on file at the Onslow County Register of Deeds.
But "head injuries" does not come close to describing what happened to Phillips, detectives that worked the crime scene said.
The right side of Phillips' face was caved in with a cinderblock left lying next to his body. An assailant hit Phillips so hard the pressure from the blow forced pieces of his fractured skull through his skin. Blood and bones fragments were splattered as high as 30 feet on the back wall of the auto parts store, all according to interviews with investigators and a review of police and medical reports.
Phillips' pants, shoes and socks were scattered around the scene and his wallet was found at the edge of the woods, according to Daily News archives. His underwear was pulled down to his thighs, said JPD Capt. Gary Dixon.
"We believe the motive was a robbery," Dixon said, adding Phillips's wristwatch was never recovered.
Phillips had been drinking alcohol at Tun Tavern and Dobby's on Court Street with four other Marines who took a taxi back to base before midnight. Phillips told them he wanted to stay in town and witnesses said he played pool at the Bunkhouse Bar until 2 a.m., Dixon said.
Jacksonville Mayor Sammy Phillips worked Court Street as a beat cop in 1975. He said that the day of Phillips' slaying, he conducted a field interview with a carload of women and a man who he believes were involved.
Seven years later, one of the women questioned in Phillips' homicide was killed and her body set fire in a Jacksonville apartment building one mile from Court Street. Her killer was sent to prison, but no one has been convicted in Robert Phillips' brutal slaying.
Sammy Phillips told The Daily News on Friday that Court Street was a dangerous place to frequent and work in the 1970s. He said he is glad the city cleaned up the area in the 1990s.
"I am and always will be frustrated by unsolved murders like Robert Phillips," he said.
Phillips was attached to C Company, 8th Engineering Battalion, at the time of his death.
Crime Stoppers of Jacksonville is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to an arrest in his death. Anyone with information can call the Jacksonville Police Department at 910-455-4000 or Jacksonville Crime Stoppers at 910-938-3273. Callers do not have to reveal their identities.
Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.
Ellie
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September 28, 2008 - 12:27AM
LINDELL KAY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
A path behind People's Auto Parts on U.S. 17 near Court Street provided hotel housekeepers a shortcut during lunch breaks in 1975 and allowed hookers to sneak johns past the Jacksonville Police Department to hotel rooms at night.
Those paths crossed Oct. 23 of that year when housekeepers found the badly beaten body of a Camp Lejeune Marine who investigators believe was lured to his death by a prostitute.
Pfc. Robert C. Phillips, 22, died of head injuries, according to his death certificate on file at the Onslow County Register of Deeds.
But "head injuries" does not come close to describing what happened to Phillips, detectives that worked the crime scene said.
The right side of Phillips' face was caved in with a cinderblock left lying next to his body. An assailant hit Phillips so hard the pressure from the blow forced pieces of his fractured skull through his skin. Blood and bones fragments were splattered as high as 30 feet on the back wall of the auto parts store, all according to interviews with investigators and a review of police and medical reports.
Phillips' pants, shoes and socks were scattered around the scene and his wallet was found at the edge of the woods, according to Daily News archives. His underwear was pulled down to his thighs, said JPD Capt. Gary Dixon.
"We believe the motive was a robbery," Dixon said, adding Phillips's wristwatch was never recovered.
Phillips had been drinking alcohol at Tun Tavern and Dobby's on Court Street with four other Marines who took a taxi back to base before midnight. Phillips told them he wanted to stay in town and witnesses said he played pool at the Bunkhouse Bar until 2 a.m., Dixon said.
Jacksonville Mayor Sammy Phillips worked Court Street as a beat cop in 1975. He said that the day of Phillips' slaying, he conducted a field interview with a carload of women and a man who he believes were involved.
Seven years later, one of the women questioned in Phillips' homicide was killed and her body set fire in a Jacksonville apartment building one mile from Court Street. Her killer was sent to prison, but no one has been convicted in Robert Phillips' brutal slaying.
Sammy Phillips told The Daily News on Friday that Court Street was a dangerous place to frequent and work in the 1970s. He said he is glad the city cleaned up the area in the 1990s.
"I am and always will be frustrated by unsolved murders like Robert Phillips," he said.
Phillips was attached to C Company, 8th Engineering Battalion, at the time of his death.
Crime Stoppers of Jacksonville is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to an arrest in his death. Anyone with information can call the Jacksonville Police Department at 910-455-4000 or Jacksonville Crime Stoppers at 910-938-3273. Callers do not have to reveal their identities.
Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.
Ellie