Do you know who murdered Robert? In the winter of 1992, the holiday season was tragically cut short for the Phillips family in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On the evening of December 7th, while his parents were out Christmas shopping, 26-year-old Robert Phillips, known to his loved ones as Bobby, returned to his family's home. In a horrifying turn of events, he was ambushed and brutally murdered, succumbing to blunt force trauma from an axe.
The grim discovery was made later that evening when his parents returned to a scene of unimaginable horror. Not only had they lost their son Bobby, but their younger son, 19-year-old David, was also found deceased in the home, having been fatally shot.
The investigation into the double homicide revealed a chilling timeline. Police believe David was killed first, shot as he woke up in his bedroom. Hours later, Bobby was attacked the moment he walked through the door. Evidence at the scene suggested the killer or killers had lingered in the house for a significant amount of time between the two murders, even consuming drinks and watching television. In an attempt to cover their tracks, the perpetrators tried to set the house on fire, leaving behind the smell of natural gas and lit candles. The family's car was also stolen but was found abandoned the next morning in a nearby high school parking lot.
Despite the efforts of law enforcement, including the FBI, no arrests have ever been made in the murders of Bobby and David Phillips. The case grew cold, leaving a void of unanswered questions for their family. Years later, a compelling theory emerged: the Phillips brothers were the victims of a tragic case of mistaken identity. Investigators now believe the intended targets were another family with the same last name, whose daughter and her husband had been murdered the year prior. A man named Jackie Wright was convicted of those murders, and authorities suspect he may have been responsible for the Phillips brothers' deaths as well, having gone to the wrong address. While Wright is serving a life sentence for the other crimes, he has never been charged in connection with the deaths of Bobby and David. The case officially remains unsolved, a painful and enduring mystery for their surviving family members.
