JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s one of Jacksonville’s highest-profile murders.
Joshua Phillips, Maddie Clifton’s killer, is preparing to ask a judge to review his life sentence, court records show.
According to court records, as of Monday, Phillips was being held in the Duval County jail after being transported from Suwannee County Correctional on Friday afternoon.
On Nov. 3, 1998, Phillips murdered his 8-year-old neighbor Maddie Clifton.
Phillips, now 41, was 14 years old when he hit Maddie repeatedly with a baseball bat, slit her throat and hid her body in his bed. Police, family and strangers searched for the little girl for a week.
Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney was a patrol sergeant at the time. He coordinated the neighborhood searches and spoke directly to Phillips, just one day before the unimaginable was discovered.
“He was cool as a cucumber,” Hackney said. “He was absolutely not shocked. Our engagement with him was actually in the bedroom where she was recovered, and he sat on the bed, pet his dog, and just was as unemotional, unaffected by law enforcement being in his house.”
Phillips was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole at age 15 -- a sentence that the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional in 2012.
In 2017, he was resentenced under the new law. A judge maintained his life sentence but ordered a review after 25 years.
A hearing has been set for June 9 to start the review process.
Hackney expressed what it would mean to him for Phillips to possibly be released.
“Just the lack of justice for Maddie and for her family. You think 25 years is that enough? And having intimate knowledge of that case and what was done, my opinion is it’s not enough that you know the justice was served, and it needs to continue to be served,” Hackney said.
WATCH: Judge resentences Josh Phillips to life in prison
During the resentencing hearing in August 2017, Phillips took the stand, apologizing to Maddie’s family.
“I don’t pretend to know or understand your pain or to grasp the void I created in your lives,” Phillips said, addressing the Clifton family. “I can say this, I do understand pain. I have become quite intimate with suffering. Growing up in prison, I’ve seen many dark things and I’ve been some dark places. Many times throughout this journey, I came close to ending my life, just to escape it all.”
The Clifton family has previously said their hearts go out to Phillips’ family, knowing they have suffered, as well. They said this is something no family should ever have to go through.
