Background: News footage of the Sissonville, W.Va., neighborhood where Joanna Lynn Phillips was found dead on Dec. 20 (WSAZ). Inset: Jason Joe Phillips (Kanawha County Sheriff”s Office).

The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office reported that Jason Phillips himself made the 911 call, admitting to shooting his wife in their kitchen. According to local NBC affiliate WSAZ, the dispatcher relayed Phillips’ words, stating he had been “just fighting with her” and was “just tired of it.” The chilling call was part of the evidence presented in the case.

Details from a criminal complaint, as reported by WSAZ, reveal that Jason Phillips allegedly used a shotgun to shoot his wife once in the chest. Law enforcement responded swiftly to the 911 call, arriving at the couple’s residence just before 3 a.m. Upon their arrival, Jason Phillips reportedly expressed that his wife had pushed him to his breaking point, leading to the fatal incident.

Following the incident, Jason Phillips was taken into custody without resistance and is currently held at the South Central Regional Jail, denied bail. Tragically, Joanna Lynn Phillips was pronounced dead at the scene, leaving a community in shock and mourning.

Jason Phillips was arrested without incident and booked into the South Central Regional Jail without bond. Joanna Phillips was declared dead at the scene.

WSAZ reported that Jason Phillips had two previous charges of domestic abuse-related incidents prior to Saturday’s alleged shooting. In December 2021, police responded to the couple’s home after Joanna Phillips told officers that Jason Phillips held a gun to her head and struck her in the mouth with it. He also threatened to kill her. Jason Phillips was charged with domestic assault, domestic battery, and brandishing, but those charges were dismissed with prejudice in March 2022.

In March 2025, Joanna Phillips called police on her husband again, telling officers that he had physically attacked her at their home after they got home from a night at the bar. He was charged with domestic battery, and he was scheduled for a bench trial in connection with those charges in January 2026.

Jason Phillips was charged with first-degree murder and remains in custody. He is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 29.