Woman found buried behind Jackson County home met her killer online, authorities say
A forensic evaluation has led to the identity of a South Florida woman who was found buried in the backyard of an Ocean Springs man’s home last week.
The woman was identified as Sarah Jane Willard, 29, of Coral Springs, Florida, according to a release from Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell.
Phillip York, 54, has been arrested on a charge of murder in Willard’s death along with an additional charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
York and Willard met online and apparently got together at some point after they started communicating, according to authorities.
Willard was last seen in South Florida in October 2019.
Her body was found buried in the backyard of York’s home on Sweetbriar Street in the St. Martin community last week. An autopsy has been performed in Jackson to determine her cause of death. The results are pending ,a release said.
An investigation began in Mississippi on Feb. 6 after deputies got a call from the FBI Safe Streets Task Force in reference to the Florida woman.
Evidence led investigators to York’s home, where Willard’s body was discovered.
York is being held at the Jackson County jail on a total bond of $350,000.
York is a convicted felon, having been previously convicted of malicious wounding, a charge similar to aggravated assault in Mississippi. In that case, York severely cut a woman’s hand during a bar fight, a release 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 19, 2020 at 11:13 AM.
