Advertisement

Minnesota man charged in Iowa woman's 1999 slaying; recent review of case led to his arrest

The Associated Press
August 19, 2013 at 10:15PM

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A Minnesota man is facing a first-degree murder charge in the 1999 slaying of an Iowa woman after a recent review of the cold case developed new information leading to the arrest, police said Monday.

Deshaun Lamont Phillips, 34, of Lakeville, Minn., was already in jail in Minnesota's Scott County on a domestic assault charge when the charge in the killing of Judith Weeks was filed Friday.

Weeks' partially clothed body was found April 5, 1999, beneath a fire escape in the backyard of a vacant apartment in Cedar Rapids. An autopsy concluded the 44-year-old Cedar Rapids woman had been struck in the forehead by a sharp object.

Cedar Rapids Police Sgt. Denni Randall said in a news release that the case was thoroughly investigated 14 years ago and has been reviewed several times over the years.

"Recently, investigators were specifically assigned to this case and developed new information regarding Phillips that they pursued, which resulted in the filing of this charge," she said.

Authorities haven't said what type of evidence was uncovered. Randall, in an email, said she couldn't release anything further.

Iowa prosecutors weren't immediately available for comment. Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden did not respond to messages left by The Associated Press.

Online court records show Phillips spent seven days in jail and paid a fine for a second offense domestic abuse charge that occurred just two weeks after Weeks' body was found. Later that year he was convicted on burglary charges and sentenced to prison. Iowa Department of Corrections records show Phillips was released from prison in February 2012.

Advertisement
Advertisement

In Minnesota, corrections records show he had been convicted of domestic assault in July 2012 and was jailed again July 15 in Scott County, Minn., on assault and domestic abuse charges. The records show on Friday he was ordered held on $1 million bail with a notation referring to the state's criminal extradition law.

His Iowa record also shows earlier convictions for theft, possession of a controlled substance, domestic abuse and contempt of court.

about the writer

about the writer

More from Minnesota Star Tribune

See More
In this photo taken Monday, March 6, 2017, in San Francisco, released confidential files by The University of California of a sexual misconduct case, like this one against UC Santa Cruz Latin Studies professor Hector Perla is shown. Perla was accused of raping a student during a wine-tasting outing in June 2015. Some of the files are so heavily redacted that on many pages no words are visible. Perla is one of 113 UC employees found to have violated the system's sexual misconduct policies in rece

We respect the desire of some tipsters to remain anonymous, and have put in place ways to contact reporters and editors to ensure the communication will be private and secure.

Advertisement
Advertisement