St. Martin man charged in death of missing Florida woman, deputies say
An Ocean Springs man is charged in the death of a missing woman, according to a Jackson County Sheriff’s Department news release.
The investigation began on Feb. 6 when deputies were contacted by the FBI in reference to a Florida woman who had been missing since October.
Evidence led investigators to a home in St. Martin.
After obtaining a search warrant for the home on Sweetbriar Street, deputies found the body of the missing woman in the backyard, the release said.
Deputies then arrested 54-year-old Phillip Allen York. He’s charged with murder in the death of the unidentified Florida woman.
An autopsy was performed Monday in Jackson to determine the woman’s cause of death. In addition, a forensic evaluation is underway to confirm the woman’s identity.
Both the preliminary autopsy results and the identification of the woman who was found could be released by the end of the week, the Sheriff’s Office said.
York is being held in the Jackson County jail on a total bond of $350,000 on charges of murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
York was previously convicted in Virginia on a felony charge of malicious wounding, a charge similar to aggravated assault in Mississippi. In the Virginia case, York severely cut a woman’s hand during a bar fight, a sheriff’s spokesperson said.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, District Attorney’s Office, Mississippi State Medical Examiner, Jackson County coroner and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force are working together on the investigation into the woman’s death.
This story was originally published February 14, 2020 at 12:51 PM.
