A Woodbury man is serving a life sentence for fatally stabbing his wife in the back during a jealous rage last summer.
McKinley J. Phillips, 40, was convicted by a jury in Washington County District Court last week of first-degree murder in connection with the death of Shavon N. Phillips, 42, whose body was found in the couple's home on June 25, 2021.
The verdict meant the immediate imposition of the mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Police records revealed officers had been called to the home three times in the two months before the killing for "domestic-related incidents, [and] responding officers noted that [McKinley] Phillips appeared to be intoxicated."
Autopsy results showed that Shavon Phillips died from stab wounds to her back, chest and neck and other traumatic injuries.
According to the criminal complaint:
A woman called 911 about 3:45 p.m. on the day of the murder and said her son told her he killed his wife and left her body in the basement. Law enforcement arrived at the home, where Shavon Phillips' six children exited at the direction of officers, who soon found the mother dead with multiple stab wounds.
Authorities arrested McKinley Phillips the next morning in Tomah, Wis., on an eastbound bus.
