Las Vegas police arrested a babysitter accused of stabbing a 3-year-old girl to death.
Marketta Phillips, 41, is charged with open murder with a deadly weapon. Authorities said the attack happened around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday at an apartment on the 4200 block of Channel 10 Drive, about five miles south of downtown Vegas.
The child’s father, Jeremy Ross, was at work at the time, according to FOX News Digital. Police said Phillips stabbed the child, identified as “Journei,” and ran before the father arrived home.
Ross made the discovery when he returned home.
“Seeing her face [the babysitter] for the first time, horrible,” Whitson told KGNS News. “You did that to my baby. How?”
“I wish I had never met this woman. I wish I had just left her alone.”
Ross said Phillips was frequently at his apartment during their unstable relationship. He noticed no warning signs of serious mental distress or anything that suggested what would happen.
“I saw her [Phillips] in the kitchen lying on her side,” Ross explained. “There was dried up blood, and I thought she was cooking and cut herself.”
“I went to the room and saw my baby girl right there. I said, ‘What did you do to my child?’ And instantly called 911, doing chest compressions, everything for my child … Right when I called 911 is when she booked it out of the house.”
Las Vegas police arrived to find Journie suffering from multiple stab wounds inside the apartment. They performed emergency aid until paramedics took over.
She was transported to a hospital, where she later died. Police arrested Phillips nearby.
Phillips made her first appearance at the Regional Justice Center Thursday, where a judge denied bond.
The story is developing. Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo: SS via KGNS News/Journie]
