A Las Vegas family is reeling over the loss of their beloved daughter. The little girl was fatally stabbed, reportedly by a person trusted to take care of her. The toddler’s father was the one to discover his daughter’s body.
In addition to stabbing the toddler, the killer, whom police say was the girl’s babysitter, left behind a series of chilling messages. Some of the messages were even written using the little girl’s blood. The suspect has been arrested and is currently in jail.
Jeremy Ross left for work around 6 p.m. on March 25, 2025, leaving his daughter Journei in the care of his roommate Marketta Phillips, KLAS reported. When he returned home around 3:30 a.m., he found Phillips sitting on the kitchen floor “surrounded by multiple knives.”
“She was just out of it or something. I walked into the room and I seen my baby girl …. on the bed,” he said. He immediately called 911 and began chest compressions.
KLAS obtained the audio of the 911 phone calls, during which Ross could be heard saying “a crazy girl cut my baby up.” He could also be heard saying “this girl just walked out the f—ing house from cutting my baby up.” Phillips, who Ross told police was his “on and off girlfriend,” left the home on foot before police arrived. She was found around 5 a.m. with blood on her.
Back at the home, police found multiple kitchen knives and scissors with blood on them. They also found three notes between the bedroom and a hallway. One read “See what happens when you f— with people’s lives,” while another said “Now we both have nothing.”
In the bedroom, there was a message on the wall apparently written in blood: “Everybody who played me is cursed.”
When she finally spoke with police, she claimed to have “snapped.” She also admitted to stabbing Journei Ross “more than once.” Her reason was “to get back at him,” she told police.
“I didn’t know she was a crazy case,” Jeremy Ross said.
Phillips appeared in court on Thursday, March 27. Also present were Jeremy Ross and Phalan Whitson, Journei’s mother. The parents shared custody, and Whitson told reporters that the court appearance was the first time she’d ever seen Phillips.
“I didn’t know this woman,” she said. ” Today was literally the first day I saw this woman. She took my baby.”
Journei was stabbed 10 times in the torso, legs, and neck. “She could light up a room wherever she was at,” Whitson said of her daughter, who would have turned 4 in July.
“I deserve justice.” Jeremy Ross echoed Whitson’s sentiments. “My baby girl is going to get the justice that she deserves, because this ain’t right.”
Marketta Phillips faces charges including open murder with a deadly weapon. Judge Suzan Bacum said that Phillips is being held without bail. She will be in court again on April 1.
