Murray County jury finds John Phillips guilty in beating death of mom's boyfriend

photo John Dwight Phillips appears before Judge William T. Boyett in Murray County, Ga., Superior Court on Monday for jury selection. Phillips is charged with homicide in the beating death of his mother's boyfriend, Tommy Walraven, during a drunken argument on Christmas day last year.

Updated at 7:14 p.m. to add full story.

Updated at 6:50 p.m. to reflect guilty verdict.

CHATSWORTH, Ga. -- The jury in the John Dwight Phillips case found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter this evening.

Involuntary manslaughter carries a sentence of 1-10 years in prison. Phillips beat 62-year-old Tommy Randall Walraven to death during a fight last Christmas. A grand jury indicted Phillips in May.

Phillips got into an argument with his wife on Christmas morning. He went to a friend's house, drank 15-20 beers, drove home, shot at a dog, then drove to the home of his mother, Terry Lynn Welch.

Walraven, Welch's boyfriend, told Phillips to go back home to his wife. Phillips told Walraven to leave. Walraven grabbed a shotgun, shoved it into his gut.

Phillips pushed Walraven into the front door. His mother took the gun away, and Phillips continued to fight Walraven. He said Walraven gouged his eyes during the scuffle.

At one point, as Walraven sat on the couch, Phillips stood over him, punching him. Six hours later, Welch found Walraven unconscious on the floor. He died on Dec. 27, when doctors took him off life support.

In their closing arguments this afternoon, attorneys on both sides of the case argued that a guilty verdict hinged on whether Phillips was defending himself -- and when exactly the fight ended.

Defense attorney Rex Abernathy told the jury that Walraven started the fight by hitting Phillips with the shotgun. Once that happened, Abernathy said Phillips never had go stop fighting.

"How do you end a fight?" Abernathy asked the jury. "You win or you lose it. ... You can't quit until it's over."

Conasauga Judicial Circuit District Attorney Bert Poston said Phillips started the fight because he was drunk and angry. Poston said Walraven actually grabbed the gun to defend himself when Phillips got in his face.

Poston also said Phillips continued to hit Walraven after Walraven lost the gun. Walraven didn't want to fight any more, Poston told the jury, but Phillips pressed on.

"That's not about the gun," Poston said. "That's about (Phillips) being drunk and angry at the world."

Contact Staff Writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6476.

Earlier story:

CHATSWORTH, Ga. -- Scratches cover Terri Lynn Welch's front door on Smyrna Church Road.

She sees them every day. They remind her of last Christmas, the night that ended her boyfriend's life and left her son's future hanging between freedom and prison.

On that night, after a holiday spent drinking alcohol and arguing, 62-year-old Tommy Randall Walraven shoved a shotgun into 29-year-old John Dwight Phillips' abdomen. The gun was empty, but Phillips didn't know that.

Phillips pushed and punched Walraven, from the dining room to the front door, from the front door to the living room couch. Welch doesn't know whether Walraven hit Phillips back. She says she was too stressed at the time.

But she is sure of this: After Walraven lost his gun and sat on the couch unarmed, Phillips punched him at least once more. The beating left Walraven with a swollen left eye and bruises across his face.

Six hours after the fight, Welch woke up to the sound of Walraven vomiting on the living room floor.

She called 911. Paramedics found Walraven unconscious, blood leaking from his mouth. He died the next day.

Welch recounted those details Tuesday, the first day of Phillips' trial. He is charged with involuntary manslaughter and could be sentenced to one to 10 years if found guilty. Attorneys on both sides expect the trial before Judge William T. Boyett to end this afternoon.

Arkansas-LSU Live Blog

Phillips' attorney, Rex Abernathy, claims self-defense. He told the jury during his opening argument that Phillips only beat Walraven after Walraven pointed a shotgun at him.

True, Conasauga Judicial Circuit District Attorney Bert Poston said. But even after Walraven lost his gun, Phillips continued to beat him. Poston said Phillips hit Walraven because Walraven sometimes hit Welch.

Welch sided with her son Tuesday.

"He was sad about [Walraven's death]," she told the jury. "He didn't want anything like that to happen to Tommy. He was just defending himself."

Poston called seven other witnesses Tuesday. Phillips' co-worker testified that Phillips drank about 20 beers on Christmas before his confrontation with Walraven. The neurosurgeon who treated Walraven said the victim's brain barely functioned when paramedics rushed him to the hospital.

The day after Christmas, Welch sent her son a text message from Hamilton Medical Center. She thought Walraven was going to die.

"I'm sorry, momma," Phillips responded. "I'll be gone before you get back. This will be the last time you talk to me."

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6476.

Upcoming Events