Melissa Phillips was cleaning her 14-year-old son Josh's room on November 10, 1998, when she discovered the dead and partially naked body of 8-year-old neighbor Maddie Clifton, who had gone missing on the 3rd of that month, inside Josh's waterbed.
Melissa promptly ran across the street for police assistance, and Josh was arrested at his school. In court, it was determined that Maddie had gone to the Phillips residence asking to play baseball one evening when Josh was home by himself, and he agreed. Maddie had thrown the ball at him, and he had hit it back to the girl, accidentally hitting her in the eye, causing her to wail in pain as her wound bleed. In fear of his abusive father, Steve, Josh dragged Maddie inside the home, then began beating her with the baseball bat and strangling her with a telephone cord before disposing of her under his bed.
When Steve returned home, Josh left to speak with him casually and returned to his bedroom to find Maddie was in fact, still alive, leading him to brutally stab her 11 times with a knife, effectively ending her life.
Josh was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole, not yet being eligible for the Florida death penalty because of his young age. Two years later, Steve Phillips was killed in a car crash, and Maddie Clifton's parents divorced. Josh has recently been reconsidered for the possibility of parole, meaning this nearly 20-year-old nightmare may finally end soon, in the hearts and minds of all those involved.
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