Friday, June 14, 2013

Convicted Murderer Found Guilty Again in Retrial


WBOC
SNOW HILL, Md.- The Worcester County Circuit Court retrial for a Pittsville man convicted in the 2008 fatal stabbing of a Pocomoke City plumber has ended with the same outcome. Now prosecutors are hoping to boost his sentence this time around.

Thirty-three-year-old Charles Robert Phillips was found guilty in 2009 of first-degree murder for stabbing 77-year-old William Niblett to death at his home. Charging documents at the time show Phillips confessed to the crime, claiming he had stabbed Niblett after an argument over money for work he had done at the house.


Charles Robert Phillips

Phillips appealed his murder conviction and the Maryland Court of Appeals granted him a new trial after finding that police had violated his Miranda rights during interviews they conducted with him at the time of his arrest.

Following his first trial, Phillips was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. Worcester County State's Attorney Beau Oglesby said that this time, however, his office plans to request that Phillips be given life without a chance for parole. According to Oglesby, this trial delayed true justice and reopened wounds for the family of the victim.

Oglesby praised his staff for securing the verdict and said, "For a family to have to endure a retrial several years after the death of their loved one, it can be devastating for them to have to reopen those wounds. We're hoping this is the conclusion so this family can heal again."

The sentencing date for Phillips has not yet been set.

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