Montana man batters ex-girlfriend with baseball bat, stabs her to death as her blood-soaked sons watch in horror
BALLANTINE, MONTANA: A 37-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly stabbing his ex-girlfriend while her three children watched. Stephen Craig Phillips also allegedly beat Jennifer McCollum with a baseball bat so brutally in front of her three kids that they ended up covered in their mother’s blood.
According to reports, the 34-year-old McCollum was repeatedly stabbed while she was with her three children all under age 10 in their trailer home in Ballantine, Montana. Yellowstone County Sheriff's deputies responded to the place on Friday, May 15, at six in the morning after receiving a 911 call from Phillips' mother, who lived next door in the trailer court. Court documents stated that she told officials that her son came into her trailer on May 15 morning covered in blood saying "I'm sorry" and "I handled it." She also said that Philips and McCollum were in an on-and-off relationship before they allegedly broke up 4-6 weeks ago.
When officials arrived at the trailer home of the victim, they found McCollum dead and lying in a pool of her own blood, while her three sons, aged nine, four, and nine months old were found with dried blood on their faces, hands, and feet. A large kitchen knife that appeared to have blood on its blade was also reportedly discovered on the floor. The affidavit said that one of the children told officials, "Hello, my mom has been killed. Steven killed my mom."
The official documents mentioned that Philips was arrested on May 15 after he was located walking eastbound near 2150 East I road in Ballantine. He had a bruise on his face and small cuts on his hands at the time of the arrest. He has been charged with homicide and has pleaded not guilty in Yellowstone County District Court.
Meanwhile, an autopsy conducted on McCollum said she suffered multiple lacerations and stab wounds over much of her body, including the head and face. The autopsy also revealed that both her wrists were broken and the victim's hair was embedded with blood and glass.
Deputies found blood-stained clothing in McCollum's home. They also learned from McCollum's current boyfriend that Phillips had been harassing them in the weeks before his girlfriend's death. However, it was not the first time McCollum has faced criminal charges. According to the charging document, he had two previous convictions of weapon-based assaults in 2004 and 2007 in Michigan, and a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence from Michigan in 2006.
In a related incident, a Swedish man was charged on Wednesday, May 13, for allegedly murdering his ex-girlfriend Wilma Andersson, six months after she disappeared from Walkesborg in Uddevalla. Police charged Tishko Ahmed Shabaz after they found 17-year-old Andersson's head in his apartment. Shabaz had dismembered Andersson's body. The 23-year-old accused reportedly believed that Andersson was 'Satan' and an enemy of his idol Donald Trump.
Shabaz is said to have idolized Trump and wanted to travel to the US to help his re-election campaign. However, he was not allowed as he did not have the required entry documents.