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Crime

On November 3rd, 1998, 8-year-old Maddie Clifton went across the street to ask Joshua Phillips, her 14-year-old neighbor, to come out and play. Phillips agreed, even though he wasn’t supposed to have friends over when his parents weren’t home.

According to Phillips, while they were playing baseball in the backyard, he accidentally hit Clifton with the ball. She started to bleed and cry, and he was worried he would get in trouble with his father, Steve, who was allegedly abusive. He stated he dragged her into the home, which caused her bottom to come off. He then hit her with the baseball bat to stop her from screaming before stuffing her under his waterbed.

Once his dad came home, the two interacted for a bit, before Phillips went back to his room. When he realized his neighbor was still alive, he slit her throat and stabbed her several times, killing the young girl.

Investigation

Her family reported her missing at 5 pm that day. Police and neighbors searched for her for 6 days. Phillips was one of the people who participated in the search.

Police also searched the Phillips home three times, but they mistook the smell of her rotting body as the birds the family owned.

On November 10th, 1998, Philip’s mother went into his room and noticed a wet spot on the floor. After lifting his mattress, she found Clifton’s body. She immediately ran outside and alerted the police who were in the area. Later that day, her son was pulled out of class and arrested for first-degree murder.

While Philips stated the whole ordeal started with an accidental hit with a baseball, others believe the crime was sexually motivated. Clifton was undressed from the waist down. Phillips allegedly had sexual conversations with the 8-year-old and her older sister. Police also found no blood evidence in the yard or on the baseball they were playing with.

Legal Proceedings

No matter the circumstances, Phillips was a killer and had to be punished. He was tried as an adult. His trial started on July 6th, 1999, and only lasted 2 days because Phillip’s defense called no witnesses. After two hours of deliberation, he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

After several appeals arguing that sentencing juveniles to life without parole is unconstitutional, Phillips was awarded a new sentencing hearing in 2016.

He was once again sentenced to life in prison, but will be eligible for resentencing after 25 years.

Recent Updates

Actionnewsjax reported in 2025, that a judge approved a sentence review hearing for Phillips. There were some delays in setting an official date as Phillips’ attorney needed more time.

News4jax reported in May 2026 that Phillips withdrew his bid for a sentencing review. He claimed he and his family were initially “excited as well as nervous.”

His confidence began to drop after the state’s expert witness, Dr. Gregory Prichard, cited concerns about Phillips’ rehabilitation. Specifically surrounding his lack of counseling regarding the crime, his childhood, and early access to porn. Prichard also mentioned general identity issues, sexual identity, and drug addiction issues that have developed while he was locked up.

According to Florida law, a juvenile sentenced to life only gets two chances at resentencing. If both of those fail, they will die behind bars.

Phillips didn’t want to waste one of his two chances at a lighter sentence. He plans to get counseling in the areas Dr. Pritchard mentioned and reapply for resentencing in the future.