| April 13,
2006 |
| |
| Handicapped Man Found Beaten, Left in Closet |
| |
Burke County
investigators, acting on information from an alleged victimized wife, converged
on a home this afternoon to find a 53-year-old handicapped man beaten and lying
inside a closet. The woman's husband has been arrested and charged with beating
the handicapped man.
According to Burke County Sheriff John T. McDevitt,
Nina Phillips came to the Sheriff's Office this afternoon to report her
husband's crimes. |
 |
|
| Nina Phillips reportedly told deputies that her
husband, Dennis E. Phillips (above, right), had
severely beaten Robert Lee Robinson, who has resided with the couple for around
ten years. According to officials, the woman also reported that her husband was
planning on killing Robinson and had put him inside a closet. |
| |
| The Philllips' were apparently the caretakers
for the man, according to one detective. |
| |
| The woman, who claimed her husband had
communicated threats to her as well, went to the Burke County Courthouse and
obtained a warrant for Dennis Phillips' arrest, along with a domestic violence
order. |
| |
| While Nina Phillips was obtaining the warrant
against her husband, Burke detectives went to the 3803 Laurel Heights,
Morganton residence to conduct a welfare check on Robinson. |
| |
| Several officers were met at the door by an
uncooperative Dennis Phillips, according to Det. Sgt. Tim Corriveau. A number
of other officers, including McDevitt, were dispatched to the scene. |
| |
| "We had a standoff with him for about thirty
minutes before he finally came out of the residence," Corriveau
said. |
| |
| Officers stormed the three-story house and found
a closet on the ground floor, McDevitt said. |
| |
| "When we opened the closet door, we had to move
a mountain of clothing and other items," said the sheriff. "At the bottom of
the pile was Mr. Robinson. It was a sad sight." |
| |
| The man, who is believed to be both mentally and
physically handicapped with limited mobility in his legs, was bleeding from
facial wounds and had numerous contusions and bruises on his body, according to
investigators. Blood spots were reportedly found in several different
places throughout the residence. |
| |
| McDevitt said the man was not responsive at
first, but began talking some as officers waited for an ambulance. |
| |
| Robinson was transported to Grace Hospital,
where his condition is stable, detectives said. |
| |
| Corriveau and other detectives remained at the
scene to obtain evidence, after securing a search warrant for the
home. |
| |
| Corriveau said that since they are just
beginning the investigation, he is unsure how long the man may have been inside
the closet. |
| |
| "I can't speculate, but some of the bruising on
his body appeared to be old wounds," the detective stated. "The possibility
exists that he has sustained abuse for a while." |
| |
| In addition to the communicating threats warrant
taken out by his wife, Phillips could face a plethora of other charges in
connection with the assault of Robinson, McDevitt said. His first court
appearance will be on Monday. |
| |
| "We hope we can establish some type of motive
for this senseless crime," the sheriff said. |
| |
| Officers with the North Carolina State Bureau of
Investigation also assisted in the case. |
| |
| ************************************************************** |
| |
| Other Recent Press Releases: |
| |
|
|
| |
| To view previous press releases, visit our
archives
file |
