Katina Dawn Phillips:1986 Richmond

    

  She was a New Years Baby.  Born on the first of January in 1975 to Mary Kathleen (Davis) and Jack Phillips.

  Her parents were divorced by 1986 but I cannot find the date of their divorce. 

  Katina had been a student at Vaile Elementary. She had earned a certificate for Most Improved Student.  She had also been on the Honor Roll in the year before her murder. Her teacher described her as independent and streetwise but also as sweet.  She said that she and Katina got along very well. She said Katina had a lot of potential. 

  A child who was a friend and neighbor described her as happy and said that she liked cats. 

  In the summer of 1986, 11 year old Katina Dawn Phillips disappeared in the evening of Sunday June 15th. (Her father last saw her on Friday June 13th.) Her mother reported her missing on June 16th 1986.  There was not a significant delay in reporting her missing. 

   Her mother reported that she was seen twice but Katina evaded them.  Who exactly saw her and reported her evading them?  Did her mother see her?  Was it a friend? How reliable are those sightings? 

   Her mother said at the Rose Festival she dodged them and “a man grabbed her up, put her in a station wagon and drove away”.  What?  Who exactly said they saw her? Did they attempt to track down this car?  Did they get a license plate number? 

   When exactly did this sighting take place?  The Rose Festival began on Saturday June 28th 1986 and various events took place through the July 4th weekend. 

   Another sighting supposedly happened in front of a local bookstore. Again, It would help to know who saw her and when. 

  Was this just a case of a child who closely resembled Katina? 

   Both of her parents actively searched for Katina.  

   Katina was found on August 9th strangled with her own shirt. More than likely she was raped but decomposition prevented testing for semen. Her body was positively ID’d on August 12th. 

   She was found in an abandoned building that was supposedly previously searched on June 16th by the police chief and another officer. The building was next door to her home. Both buildings are apartment buildings that were part of a complex. 

   Two months had gone by. No one noticed a smell before then?  Maybe not,  as this building was completely unoccupied.  Katina was found in an apartment on the second floor. 

    Because she was on the second floor; I would imagine that this was where she was killed. 

    It was reported in the paper that she had been dead at least a month. Were the sightings real or false?  Was it wishful thinking or willful deception?

   Her parents were divorced.  Was there a new man around? What were the neighbors like? Who else lived in those apartments and in the surrounding area? Who had access to this abandoned building?  Was it locked or were there broken windows and doors? 

    Katina was found on August 9th and identified on the 12th.  On the 13th of August a newspaper put out an article about runaways and how little can be done.  But, Katina did not necessarily run away.  She could have been murdered on the first night of her disappearance.  The sightings might have been cases of mistaken identity. The article is very callous but shows the attitudes of the time. Runaways and other victims were blamed often for what befell them. 

    The obituary said the funeral was private.  No visitation was held. I’m sure the family was absolutely devastated. I imagine that with the reported sightings that they held out a great amount of hope. 

    Katina Dawn Phillips is buried at the West Point Cemetery in Liberty, Indiana according to her death certificate.  I could not find her listed on Find A Grave but sometimes not all the memorials are photographed. 

Rest in Peace Katina. 

If you know something or have a tip about Katina’s case please call the Richmond Police Department at 

(765) 983-7247.