Prince George’s County police charged a D.C. police officer with murder after finding the bodies of a missing woman and her 11-month-old daughter in Hillcrest Heights Thursday evening.
Officer Richmond Phillips, of the 2900 block of Oxon Park Street in Temple Hills, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, according to Col. Gary Cunningham.
Police found the bodies of Wynetta Wright, 20, of District Heights in Oxon Run Stream Valley Park around 7 p.m. on Thursday. At about 8:30 p.m., officers located an abandoned vehicle on the 2400 block of Southern Avenue with the body of Wright’s daughter, Jaylin, inside.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Autopsies are underway, though Cunningham said that Wright suffered obvious trauma to her body. It appeared that Jaylin may have been inside the vehicle for days and may have died of heat exposure, Cunningham said.
Wright and her daughter were reported missing to Baltimore County Police on May 31. Prince George’s police took over the investigation once it was confirmed that the mother and child were last seen in Temple Hills.
Phillips entered a District 4 precinct at an unspecified time, according to Cunningham, and was charged around 12:30 Friday afternoon.
According to D.C. police officials, Phillips has been an officer with the department since 2003. He is assigned to the First District. His police powers have been revoked.
