Demetrius Phillips’ family says he is not responsible for the death of his son.

Phillips was convicted of first degree murder in 2010. He was found guilty of killing his son by a jury in rock island county. Now, his case is being reviewed. 

It’s been years since Lyrik Phillips has been gone. But his grandmother Joanne won’t ever forget him.
Not being able to see her grandchild, and her son being locked up, its been a daily terror.

“It feels like a nightmare that ‘ve never waken up from even right till this day like im still in a nightmare. And the only hope is my prayer. I’m a prayer woman. I’ve raised all my children to be prayer children. They’re all great children,” says grandmother Joanne Edwards. 

Now, Joanne and her son, John, are determined to fight for justice.

“At this point i want the question marks to be eliminated. There’s just too many questions marks. It’s detectives job to solve a murder. To make sure they know who they’re sending to prison. In this case that just didn’t happen,” says John Phillips, brother of Demetrius Phillips.

Court documents state that Phillips was arrested after making a confession. One he later took back.

“He loved his child. It was his first son. I mean he loved him, he adored him,” says Joanne.

State’s Attorney, John McGehee, says the prosecutor used that statement heavily, which he says the Appellate Court saw as unnecessary.

“The appellate court reversed. And they determined that the trial court had not properly ordered a motion to suppress his statement,” says McGehee.  

McGehee says they took into account the allegations by the defense that Phillips was forced to make a statement. 
The Phillips family is focusing on medical evidence they say prosecutors overlooked.

“At birth when he was delivered pulled from the womb he was emergency rushed to another hospital for that spinal nerve,” shares Phillips. 

Phillips says that spinal nerve and other at birth complications could be what ultimately killed Lyrik Phillips.

“We’re going to be taking a look at all of the information and then making a determination where we go. What happened now is that this case has come back and we have to start over with the evidence,” says State’s Attorney McGehee. 

That’s something Joanne and her family are looking forward to. 

“What they didn’t have was a mother like me fighting. I’m not going to stop fighting.” 

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