Woodbury man charged with murder in stabbing of his wife, complaint says

A Woodbury man has been charged after he allegedly fatally stabbed his wife last week.

According to charges filed in Washington County, 39-year-old McKinley Juner Phillips has been charged with one count of second-degree murder with a dangerous weapon. If convicted, Phillips could face up to 40 years in prison.

The criminal complaint states that on Friday, at about 3:44 p.m., the Woodbury Police Department sent officers to a home located in the 7500 block of Steepleview Road for a welfare check. The caller told authorities she received a phone call from her son, Phillips, in which he told her that he had killed his wife and that her body was in the basement of their home.

Additionally, there were "six or seven children" in the home that range in ages from 5 to 15, according to the suspect’s mother.

It was later learned from the caller that Phillips had "beaten and stabbed" his wife because he reportedly suspected she was cheating on him.

According to police records, law enforcement had previously visited the house three times in the past two months on domestic-related incidents. Police noted that Phillips appeared to be intoxicated and hostile towards authorities on each occasion.

After police responded to the home and set up a perimeter, six children exited the home. They identified Phillips as their stepfather, and added he and their mother were not home at the time. Tactical officers made entry to the home and found a woman, who was pronounced dead, in the basement. She was later identified as the mother of the children and Phillips’ wife.

Then, police made efforts to locate Phillips. At about 3 a.m. on Saturday, he was located on an eastbound Greyhound bus traveling through Monroe County, Wisconsin. Phillips was arrested and is currently being held at the Monroe County Jail.

In an interview, Phillips admitted to police that he had gotten into an argument with his wife about her writing to an ex-boyfriend who was currently in jail. Phillips believed she had been cheating on him. He admitted to punching her multiple times in the face, then stabbing her multiple times in the back. It was later determined by the medical examiner that the woman died as a result of multiple sharp force injuries to her chest, back and neck and blunt force trauma to her brain.

Phillips added that his plan was to take a bus to Chicago and then head for New York City afterward.

Police noted he was wearing the same clothing he was wearing at the time of the murder, with blood splatter on it.

A warrant has been requested to extradite Phillips from the Wisconsin jail at which he currently is in custody.