Prince George’s County Police believe a paternity dispute drove a Washington, D.C. police officer to kill the woman and baby found dead in Temple Hills last week.
Richmond Diallo Binns Phillips has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter in the deaths of the Prince George’s County woman and her daughter.
Phillips is accused of murdering 20-year-old Wynetta Wright and abandoning her daughter, 1-year-old Jaylin Wright, who was also found dead.
“He didn’t have to do that for no child support,” Wyvette Wright, Wynetta Wright’s mother, told Fox 5 News. “If he paid, he paid. If he didn’t, he didn’t. He didn’t have to do all that.”
Wyvette Wright contacted the Baltimore County Police on May 31 after she hadn’t heard from her daughter since the night before.
According to reports, it was that night Phillips called Wynetta and requested a meeting. The next day, Wynetta and Phillips were to appear in court over a paternity suit.
Baltimore County Police said investigators concluded that Wynetta Wright had been expected to return to her home in Prince George’s County. Her body was found on June 2 lying in Oxon Run Stream Valley Park with a gunshot wound to the body, according to police. Police say Phillips drove Wright’s Saturn up the street to the 2400 block of Southern Avenue, with Jaylin Wright still inside, and left the infant. Both were pronounced dead on the scene.
The cause of death for Jaylin Wright has not been disclosed, but police officials say it could have been from the excessive heat that hit the Washington, D.C. area during the week of the Memorial Day holiday.
Wynetta Wright was a member of the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Explorers program and was possibly pursuing a career in law enforcement.
A Facebook page created by family friend, Farrah Johnson, was made to honor the lives of Wynetta and Jaylin Wright.
“I honestly get too upset to talk about it,” Johnson said
“For those who knew Wynetta can all say she was such a sweet person very loving and at times quiet,” Johnson continued. “She was a very loving single mother taking great care of her girl. Wynetta will be missed. Words can’t express how we feel. They have touched so many lives!”
Phillips, who surrendered to Prince George’s police, was charged with homicide and is being held without bond. At a hearing on Monday, several reports say Wright’s family screamed “monster” and “trash” at Phillips.
Funeral services for Wynetta and Jaylin will be held June 10 at New Canaan Baptist Church on 2826 Bladensburg Road, N.E., Washington, D.C.
