“You Murdered My Baby”: What Really Happened in This Las Vegas Apartment?

A 3-year-old girl brutally stabbed while under the care of a woman her father trusted. This isn’t just a horrifying crime; it’s another glaring reminder that personal responsibility and common sense must return to the forefront of parenting and community accountability.

Las Vegas authorities have arrested 41-year-old Marketta Phillips, who now faces an open murder charge for allegedly stabbing Journei Ross—a non-verbal toddler described by her mother as loving and bright—ten times in a shocking act of violence that has rocked the city. Phillips had reportedly been living with the girl’s father, Jeremy Ross, for about a year. Ross described her as a roommate and “on and off” girlfriend and said that he had left Journei in her care while he went to work overnight.

When Ross returned around 3:30 a.m. on March 26, he found Phillips covered in blood and surrounded by knives. What he discovered next was unimaginable—his daughter, lifeless on the bed, having suffered multiple stab wounds to her torso, neck, and legs. He called 911, attempted CPR, and screamed, “You murdered my baby.”

This horrific incident underscores a deeper issue—too many children are being left in unstable environments while parental oversight takes a back seat. And yet again, the justice system is left trying to piece together the aftermath of a preventable crime.

Police later found Phillips in a nearby parking lot with blood on her hands. According to the arrest report, she had scribbled disturbing messages on paper and even wrote on the bedroom wall in what appeared to be blood, declaring, “Everybody who played me is cursed.” She told investigators she “snapped” and admitted to stabbing the child “more than once” in an act meant to hurt the father.

In court, Judge Suzan Baucum denied Phillips bail. Journei’s mother, Phalan Whitson—who shares custody with Ross—said it was the first time she had ever seen Phillips. “She took my baby,” Whitson cried. “I didn’t know this woman. Today was literally the first day I saw this woman.”

The heartache is immeasurable. Journei, a child on the spectrum who loved to sing, would have turned four in July.

There are hard truths here that must be faced. Who we bring into our homes, who we trust with our children, and how we vet those individuals matters. And while the justice system may deal with Phillips, it’s on all of us—especially parents—to make better, safer choices for our children’s future.