LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A woman accused of stabbing and killing a 4-year-old girl she was babysitting remains in jail on a murder charge.
Marketta Phillips appeared virtually in court Wednesday. While she wasn’t physically in court, the girl’s father was.
After a brief appearance, Jeremy Ross spoke with FOX5 about the morning he found his daughter struggling to survive.
“This is my baby girl and my baby girl’s ashes,” he said.
Ross carries his daughter, Journei’s remains on his wrist. It’s been nearly three months after he says he found Journei and her alleged killer, Phillips, both in his apartment near Eastern and Flamingo.
Ross says he was getting home from work around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 26.
“I just walked in and I see all the lights off,” he said. “A kitchen light was on. I started looking around and I see these knives. Instantly, I’m like, ‘Let me check on my child.’”
MORE: ‘You did that to my baby’: Parents remember toddler after deadly stabbing
He said he saw Journei with stab wounds.
“I was on the phone with dispatch,” he said. “We kept going until the first responders came.”
He says while he was trying to save Journei, Phillips ran out the door. The toddler would later die at the hospital.
Police eventually found and arrested Phillips. Ross says he’s still numb by the traumatizing experience.
“Not even a movie would have something like that,” he said.
He says he’s hopeful Phillips faces the consequences.
“She’s strong enough to go ahead and do this?” he said. “She’s strong enough to go through this trial.”
The state is determining whether Phillips is competent to stand trial. Police say Phillips may have lived with the family.
Sources say officers arrived a week before the stabbing for an emergency mental health call on Phillips.
Her next court appearance is July 9.
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