Dad charged with murder in death of 4-month-old son (Rock Island, Illinois)

Dad DEMETRIUS PHILLIPS is charged with murder in the death of his 4-month-old son. The baby's mom also reports that Phillips has been violent towards her, and that she had filed for an order of protection in December. Two months later, Phillips had already "allegedly" violated the order. What a surprise....

http://qctimes.com/news/local/article_c596caa8-5b11-11e0-8645-001cc4c03286.html

Rock Island father charged with murder in infant’s deathRock Island father charged with murder in infant’s death
Dustin Lemmon The Quad-City Times | Posted: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 4:05 pm
An 18-year-old Rock Island man was arrested this afternoon on a first-degree murder charge in the death of his 4-month-old son.

Demetrius Phillips, who is charged in Rock Island County Circuit Court, is accused of shaking the boy, Lyrick L. Phillips, and causing his head to strike a flat surface, court records state. Rock Island police investigated the case.

The child’s mother, Jasmine Anderson, also of Rock Island, filed for an order of protection against Phillips in December. According to the order, the infant was injured in November and taken to a children’s hospital in Peoria, Ill., where he died Dec. 10.

Rock Island County State’s Attorney Jeff Terronez said he was waiting on medical analysis and other details related to the investigation, which is why his office didn’t file the murder charge until Wednesday.

He said he is seeking the murder charge, which in Illinois carries a mandatory life sentence if convicted, because Phillips knew his actions would cause the child’s death or great bodily harm.

“It’s a mandatory life sentence because of not only his age but the age of the victim,” Terronez said.

In the order of protection, Anderson said her son had a fractured skull and bleeding in the front and back of his brain. She said police detectives showed her “strong evidence” that Phillips harmed the child and hospital staff would not let him have contact with his son.

Anderson also mentioned an incident that happened while she was 10 to 12 weeks pregnant in which she and Phillips had an argument and he grabbed her by the neck and threw her down, documents stated.

“I feel like if Demetrius Phillips can harm our four-month-old baby, what will he do to me,” she wrote in the order.

Phillips faces a misdemeanor count for violating the order of protection in February. Efforts to reach Anderson for comment were not immediately successful.

Phillips’ bond was set at $1 million.