Tara Phillips two sons were in the house in the early morning hours when she was severely beaten with a hammer.
The boys don’t remember hearing anything on a day that would change their lives dramatically and have their stepfather Lincoln Phillips on trial for attempted murder.
Deputy Prosecutor Landon Murata shows Darius Mellion, Tara’s oldest son, a shirt and shorts recovered from the crime scene.
Darius recalled a phone call from his stepfather the morning that his mother’s beaten body was found.
"He pretty much said, ‘Darius do you know what I wearing last night?’ I told him I don’t know something orange and blue?" Darius said.
Darius was 15 years old at the time. His brother Hasan was 11.
Darius said the evidence shown in court was what Lincoln Phillips was wearing just hours before his mom was found badly beaten on her bed in 2008.
The prosecution says Tara’s DNA was found on that clothing. Tara’s mom remembers getting a call from her son-in-law Lincoln on September 3.
"And he said ‘Mama, mama I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry mama, somebody attacked Tara.’ And I said ‘Attacked Tara, where is Tara?’" said Ossie Hale, Tara Phillips’ mother.
Tara would spend the next year and a half hospitalized. While her condition improved slightly, she could not remember the attack and died last year.
Lincoln has been charged with attempted murder, prosecutors believe he attacked Tara with the hammer.
Both sides agree Lincoln had been unfaithful in his marriage to Tara, something the oldest son says was confirmed just days before the attack.
"Apparently sir it was about my stepfather and his supposed cheating on my mother," Darius said. "Not much sir, I really wasn’t paying attention. I caught my mother saying, ‘yes, and he is a liar isn’t he?"
A conviction of attempted murder would land Lincoln Phillips in jail for life with the possibility of parole.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
