June 23, 2025 • 34 mins
In June 1997, Uwe Durbin was brutally tortured and murdered in Riverside, California. Durbin, who had been staying with Lester “Woody” Wilson and his wife Barbara Phillips, was accused by Wilson of stealing electronics from their home. In retaliation, Wilson and Phillips abducted Durbin at gunpoint and brought him back to their house. Over several hours, Durbin was savagely beaten, shot in the knee, strangled, and tortured with objects including battery-filled gloves. The attackers also brought chemical drain cleaner, allegedly intending to dissolve his body, and held Durbin’s family members hostage during the ordeal.
In the early morning hours of June 9, Wilson and others attempted to transport Durbin’s battered body but their car broke down along California’s Highway 91. There, Durbin was shot five times in the head and left in a roadside drainage ditch. His body was discovered later that day. Wilson was arrested, convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances of torture and kidnapping, and sentenced to death. Barbara Phillips was also convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case remains one of Riverside County’s most disturbing examples of torture-murder.
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In the early morning hours of June 9, Wilson and others attempted to transport Durbin’s battered body but their car broke down along California’s Highway 91. There, Durbin was shot five times in the head and left in a roadside drainage ditch. His body was discovered later that day. Wilson was arrested, convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances of torture and kidnapping, and sentenced to death. Barbara Phillips was also convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case remains one of Riverside County’s most disturbing examples of torture-murder.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Welcome to unforbidden truth. I'm Andrew. Today I'll be speaking
with convicted murderer Barbara Phillips. The homicide of Uwie Durban
in Riverside County, California in nineteen ninety seven was a
brutal and premeditated crime committed by Lester Harlan Wilson and
his wife, Barbara Phillips. On June eighth, nineteen ninety seven,
Wilson and Phillips went to Durban's brother's apartment, where they
(00:37):
found Mike Durban and his family. Wilson held Mike at gunpoint,
demanded to know the whereabouts of his stolen property, and
forced the entire family to accompany him in his search
for Durban. When they encountered Durban on the street, Wilson
confronted him about the theft, and after receiving a no
satisfactory answer, forced him into the car and drove them
to their home. At their residence, the situation had escalated
(00:57):
into a horrifying ordeal, Wilson and Phillips subjected Durbin to
severe physical abuse, including a beating with fists and a
pair of gloves filled with the cell batteries, burning him
with a blow torch and pouring bleach into his wounds.
Despite the brutal assault, Durbin remained alive but unresponsive. The
couple den forced Durbin's brother's girlfriend to perform sexual acts
and threatened to kill her family if she reported the incident. Eventually,
(01:21):
they decided to release the family members, warning them against
contact and the authorities. The following morning, Durbin's body was
discovered in the drainage ditch along the Highway ninety one freeway.
He had been shot multiple times in the head, and
forensic evidence indicated that he had also suffered from blood
force trauma, burns, and other injuries consistent with torture. Investigators
found bloodstains, spent shell casings, and other atoms at the
(01:44):
crime scene and at Wilson's home, linking him to the crime.
Wilson was arrested in charge with first degree murder, kidnapping,
and torture. In two thousand, a jury convicted him of
these charges and he was sentenced to death. However, the
California Supreme Court later overturned the death sentence to an
air during jury deliberations and a retrial. In twenty ten,
Wilson was convicted again and sentenced to death. The CORN
(02:07):
affirmed the conviction in twenty twenty three, emphasizing the severity
of the crimes and the overwhelming evidence against him. Barbara
Phillips was convicted of first degree murder, kidnapping, personal use
of a firearm, torture, and GBI. She was sentenced to
life without the possibility of parole. The case of Durbin's
murder is a tragic example of extreme violence and the
devastating impact of unchecked rage. It underscores the importance of
(02:29):
thorough legal proceedings and the necessity of holding individuals accountable
for such heinous acts. Durbin's death left a lasting scar
on his family and the community, serving as a somber
reminder of the potential consequences of violent behavior. Here's my
interview with convicted murderer Barbara Phillips.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Is not a prepaid call from Barbara Phillips and Incarcerated
Individual Act the California Institution for Women, Corona, California.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
My name is Barbara Phillips and i I'm from Los Angeles, California.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Can you recall any positive memories that stick out to
you from your childhood?
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Well, yeah, I have a lot of positive memories. I
have negative memories, but I have a lot of positives.
Like I had a rare opportunity to go to summer
camp and I think it was with the YMCA in Englewood, California,
So that was something rare for kids and my part
of the neighborhood. I went to the summer camp.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
What about can you recall any negative memories that stick
out you from your childhood?
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Well, the negative memories I can remember, you know, from
the violence in the home my mother and father, domestic
violence in the home, and then just violence in the neighborhood.
I remember when I was like five or six years old,
one of my classmates was Kipnapping killed. You know, he
was only like five or six years old like me,
(04:03):
little kids.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Oh that's crazy. Was that person ever caught? Did they
go to prison?
Speaker 3 (04:13):
No? They the person who killed my little classmate, I
don't think he was ever caught.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Okay, that's why. Well, hopefully with new technology and everything,
he'll he or she will eventually be arrested because cold
cases are being cracked like every week. Now.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
What I learned about Los Angeles when it was people
of color that was killed, they didn't investigate it. They didn't.
They didn't investigate it. I didn't know that then as
a little kid, but as I learned when my brother
got killed when I was eighteen, they do not investigate murders.
(04:58):
They just chop him up to allay violence, are or
just another statistic, but they do not investigate it. You
have to be more affluent for your case to get investigated.
They did not investigate it.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
So did they ever investigate your brother's hombita? Is that
still open or is that closed?
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Never did. They just wrote it off as gained violence.
Never did. My older brother was shot in ninety four.
He survived and then he eventually succumbed to his injuries,
but they never investigated. So that's just something you know,
and I think that's why people get riled up with
the police. It's one thing you don't investigate our death,
(05:42):
but when you are the coport and you killed one
of ours, then yeah, you should be investigated. I'm on
the phone.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
So going back a little bit to your childhood, did
you ever suffer any type of childhood abuse or child
or yourself?
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Not I molested or anything. I was never molested or
or anything like that. I was I was a product
of my environment that I learned how to fight real
early and just learned how to fight and defend myself.
They gus probably considered me a not a bad child,
but bud me being a baby, I just learned how
(06:23):
to fight.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Who taught you to survive and how to fight?
Speaker 3 (06:28):
My my, my the brother that got killed. Oh yeah,
my other sisters because they were four and five years older.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Than me, were they were They treated good too, Like
they weren't abused or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
No, we just saw a lot of violence. Like my
dad's side, they were more alcoholics, so his his side
of the family was around us more. And when they drink,
they fought, so we were were exposed to that.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Okay, so your mom and dad were together, so we fought.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Yeah, they was together up until I was about seven.
They were together.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Okay, all right, So at home? What was your behavior
like growing up?
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Actually, I was a kid, the little girl that I
liked to play with her baby dolls. You know, I was.
I was that little girl, you know, little girl with
her easy bake oven. You know, I was that little girl.
I have somewhat of a childhood. I remember my oldest brother,
who was thirteen years older than me, and he was
(07:41):
working at that's like him, I'm still He took me
to previews after Disney, Like in Disneyland when they had
a movie preview, I was dressed up real pretty and
taking two previews. I went to ice capades. I did
things like my other siblings didn't get to do, but
I did. And that's because of my oldest other. He
(08:01):
always would try to change the ambiance or whatever was
going on. You know, I knew, like in his room,
like he had his own room because he was adult,
but I knew that when I didn't want them to
bother me, I would go to his room and just
wasting him to get off of work because I knew
that in his room, there is no arguing, there was
(08:22):
no fighting, you know, none of that.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
So what was your behavior like in school? Focusing more
on your middle school and high school years.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
School was easy for me because I was pretty smart,
so it was easy for me. I got bored. I
think in the ninth grade I got bored and I
used to start ditching school because I was really really bored.
I would literally go and sleep in history and make
an a and I'll be sleeping our class. But somehow
(08:58):
I absorbed it or something. But I was just really smart,
and I got bored and I ditch. But I liked school.
I loved to learn, have always loved to learn. So
just basic, I started working in high school. I started
working at fifteen, so I had a job at McDonald's.
(09:19):
That was one of my real first jobs of clocking in.
Just went to school, went to work, come home.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
So did you engage in any criminal activity as a juvenile, No,
never did. What about as an adult prior to the
cases you're serving timeport down, No I didn't. So what
was life like before you as an adult, prior to
coming to prison? What was life like then?
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Well?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
I had my first daughter at twenty years old. I
was in a relationship with her father and he was
really abusive. So I've learned since being in prison is
that I attracted the same type of relationship that I
saw my parents in, which was abusive, and I was abused.
(10:18):
Like fault kid socks, I was axbused. So when I
finally left, I left and being my other kids father,
I had made up my mind that I needed to
figure out a career choice. So that with my second daughter,
that's when I went in and enrolled in school, in
(10:39):
nursing school.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
So I went to.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
School to be a nurse.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Is that what you wanted to do with your life?
Become a nurse?
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Yeah? Well I realized that it became a passion. I
was always interested in medical fielm and I enjoyed it.
And it gave me an opportunity to take care of
my children. You know, even like when my children, I
didn't give child support, so I just took care of
my kids with the money I made. That my mother
(11:10):
she will babysit for me, so I have support from her.
And that's who eventually raised my children, was my mom.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
So you mentioned the abuse. Was that abuse from Lester Wilson?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
My chans the abuse I suffered with him. I saw
the red flat like when you was shaking start or
he didn't choke me, but he will push me, you
know what I mean. But it would start, it was
starting to escalate. His abuse was more financial and pushing
and shaking.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
So before we talked about the crimes that took place,
can you talk about how you met your for defending
Lester Wilson.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Okay, so let me explain to you something with my
daughter's father. He was like the sole provider. He took
care of me. Yes, he and he sold drugs, but
he took care of me. And in his mind, I
guess because he was taking care of me that he
felt he could fight me and all that. I was
(12:20):
literally like a housewife. And the abuse was more verbal abuse,
physical abuse, emotional abuse. It was that and I mean
he hit all cycles of the will. So when I
met the code defended, I met the code defended when
(12:43):
I met his mother. So between the two of them,
it was like, that's what convinced me to be with him.
I did not know he had thirty eight lias his name.
I did not know a lot like their whole intentions was.
I guess she wanted the baby with an African American mother.
I was pregnant and I lost the baby because of
(13:06):
the stress he was putting me under. I got pregnant again,
so they know I'm pregnant. He cut the brake lines
on the car. I mean, he was doing gaslight and stuff.
He's the one, now that I really look at it
and reflect on it, he's the one who set the
house up.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
To be robbed.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Hell, he probably helped rob it, but needed somebody to blame.
He needed a way to kick off my anger. I'm
already the whole six months I was with him, I
was probably angry every day trying to figure out how
to get away from him. But none of this is
ever really reflected on because I did not my lawyer
(13:49):
never presented.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Anything like that.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
Okay, So let's talk about the crime or crimes that
took place. Can you walk me through everything that led
us to the kidnapping a murder of uved Derwan and
talked about each charge you picked up, well to thing about.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Each charge that was picked up. And I'm gonna have
to do a a disclaimer Andrew, Okay again, because because
if you only go on by what's on the trial record,
if you go by what's on the trial record, it
was all done to assist him. My lawyer did not
(14:31):
have a license, so nothing was preserved for me. So
I got a charge like curiously from the acts of others,
not because I physically did anything. I did what he
told me to do. But nobody don't know that I
was never allowed to drive my car again once we
(14:52):
got back to the house. Nobody don't know that I'm
telling him to carry this off because they don't want
to know that. They want to make it seem like,
oh they were inkol, who's together. No, I didn't want
it to escalate like that. And the cloud records it
says that me and the victim's brother took a bike back.
(15:15):
We took the bike back. I didn't have a gun.
They took the bike back together to come back together.
I'm telling him to let him take him to the
hospital or whatever. But again they twisted in and turned
it around. Because I never had anybody to present an
affirmative defense for me. So it's really hard for me
(15:36):
to say this because they'll go back and say, oh, well,
she's lying, but nothing was ever presented for me. So
I mean, if we go with the record, I don't know.
That's why I keep trying to challenge the record. I
keep challenging the record. They don't want me to.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Right.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
So what you say, it's not on record, and it's
not right.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
So so I know you're saying you did not participate, right?
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Did you?
Speaker 4 (16:06):
Did you witness it or were you not witness?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Not president when the person got shot?
Speaker 4 (16:13):
No, I didn't witness it, okay, but.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
He kept me. He kept me close enough to him,
so I can be charged with it when I when
I think when I got to County jail, he started
sending letters like, hey, they go easier on first time offenders.
So basically like cops to something I didn't do. I
didn't witness, but he was trying to influence me to
(16:37):
cop to it. I'm like, I got three little kids.
I'm pregnant, but I got three little kids at home.
I don't have nobody. He don't care. He didn't care.
He didn't care.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
So how long after the crime took place where you
two arrested?
Speaker 3 (16:55):
It was just you two, right, Yeah, it was just
us to the arrested. It from I think the It
was around like eleven or twelve at night, and they
came that morning. Because we went back to the house.
He made me take off all my clothes, I guessed
to keep me from running. So when then the police
(17:17):
had come, I literally ran out the house neked. But
my jury never knew that because I was scared he
was going to use me as a like a shill
or something, so I ran.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
And what happened to him?
Speaker 3 (17:33):
No, he came down. But because once he saw me run,
you was not using me for a shill. I ran.
You know, they put me in like a little holding
self for eight hours. They didn't interrogate me for eight
They left me in a little holding self for eight hour,
a little dark holding self for eight hours, no bathroom,
no water, no nothing. And then when they interrogate me,
(17:59):
they are telling me straight up, we're gonna have CPS
go pick up your children in Marino Valley. Well, who
knows my kids are in Marinal Valley. But my co defended,
you're trying to send CPS to get my kids. I mean,
you know what I mean. It's just it was a lot.
It was a lot.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
It was.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
It was he was using the system to destroy me.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
When the co defended up, let's call Andre. Our telephone
number will be monitored and recorded.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
That's still locked up. I had never met him, He
had never met me, and he said, hey, man, she's pregnant.
Let your wife go. He said, oh, I'm not doing
a life sentence for nobody. So they let me know
that you basically, it's gonna ride this out until I
have all your charges.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
What charge is he convicted of?
Speaker 3 (18:52):
I was convicted of all of his charges to separate
and the lady was trying to put rape charges on
me and I knew nothing of rate, Like you know,
it was stuff going on that I did not know about.
But like I have a gun charge, I have a
GBI charge, I have a de torture charge, and I'm like,
I need't witness the torture and I need torture nobody,
(19:13):
but I have it because he got it. The kip. Now,
I was made to get in the passenger side and
I never came in contact with the victim at all,
but the kip. Now, It's like when I look at
taking my victims classes, victim intact classes, and I'm like, well,
I should have called the police so I could have
(19:34):
did this different. I was replaying on what I possibly
could have done. So I get it. And that's I
come to this day. I'm not trying to say, hey,
I need to be held responsible or comforable for what
I actually did, but a life without sitting for a
murder that I had no intention of doing. Though, and
(19:56):
now that I've served, I've been down twenty seven years. Now.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Were you offered any plevials before you went to trial?
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Never, so you.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
Took it to trial the whole way and you got life.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Without They never offered me in.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
So how did you react emotionally when they read that
sentence out?
Speaker 3 (20:17):
I cried because I was really begging for her to
really hear me out that I was an abused woman.
I was begging, like, basically a sentence that reflect what
I actually did. You know what I mean? But I
think the lady and she died Judge Sherman, she died
(20:39):
a breath counsel, but she was like, no, I can
only give you a mandatory sentence. But I do remember
her telling my jury, don't you don't worry about what
sentence you give. Whatever you convict her of is what
you're convictor of. I'm the one who sentenced is her,
So y'all don't worry about that. But so my jury
never knew. Yes, it convicts me a first degree murder.
(21:01):
But you would think that I would have got twenty
five of life or something like that. And that's what
I thought. I was facing twenty five of life, not
a mandatory life without tool.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
So do you remember what the Busser van Right was
like after being sentenced, Like, like what it was like
on your way to prison.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
I was devastated. I had already been separated from my children.
I was gonna be sent seven to eight hours away,
and I was gonna never like really see or hold
my children. Now, when I got there, I was closed custody.
So I did a whole full fifteen years of being
(21:39):
close custody. So you know, it was a challenge, you know.
I mean, my kids still loved me, and they know
I love them, but it's they I encouraged them to
go forward with their life, but it's hard. It's hard
on all of us. And my mom My mom is
eighty two now, so it's really hard. My dad died so.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Uh So your dad passed away while you were in prison?
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Yes, he did. Doctor Phil. I did a Doctor Phil
show two thousand and eighty ten or something, and he
was asking us, like, how do you tell your children
you're never coming home. I thought I would not ever
tell my kids that. Yeah, you tell him never say never,
Doctor Phil.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
Yeah, Yeah, that would be tough. Whether you were doing
life or death for that matter, it would be hard
to tell your kids that, for sure.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
I don't have.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
Uh So, nowadays, how do you spend your time in prison?
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Well, I'm in the media center. I work in the
media center as a media technician. I work I'm learning
how to take pictures with photography, and I'm learning how
to edit film when we do videos of graduations. We
did our first cook show in prison, the first in
(23:09):
the state of California. So learning how to create content,
positive content for the community. And I'm in college again.
I can't I went back when this college is in
person professors, so it's a it's different. So I'm doing
(23:30):
that the occupy my time.
Speaker 4 (23:33):
Oh, really, is that for your associates or is that
beyond that?
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Is that what? Oh? It's what associates again, because when
I graduated from Coastline, they never acknowledged me. They never
acknowledged me because I'm a life without parole, so I've
never had a graduation and all that stuff. What's your
major right now? There's Liberal arts. But when I got
the other AA was in behavior and social science, okay,
(24:02):
because I was actually I wasn't. I wasn't accepted into
the bachelor's program, but they maneuvered me up out of it.
So you know, I just have to go with the flow.
You just got to pick your battles, especially when you're
a alwop because the airwop you're low. You're a low man.
On his totem pole, You're not a priority, so we
(24:24):
just have to get in where we fit in.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
Right, Yeah, I understand life without Parle and destinences for
that matter. It's never impossible to get anything or get
anything done or like do anything positive when it comes
to like rehabilitation or school or whatever, because they stay,
you don't need it and it's a waste of time,
money and efforts, and which is kind of sad.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
But right, I.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
Mean, but people get out of Like there's guys going
home that had death sentences in California right now because
of the labratorium and being shipped all over there being
resentand so it's it's kind of crazy they are.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
But the women that we're at a stand still, he
only commuted two women this last go around, two women,
the other ones. We're all out of stand still and
it's people been down forty and fifty years, you know. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
Yeah, I've met some people that are christ rated for
almost forty years, and I think that's really crazy. I
can only imagine there's people that have been in prison
for almost fifty years. Yeah, that's that's just wild to me.
That's really sad. Like Charles Benson, he was in prison
for sixty something years or I don't know how long
(25:35):
he was in prison for.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
I gave birth in prison in County jail, and they
made me why those big old chunk was too big
for me. Ankles, shackle waist, shain zone. It's a miracle
that my little girl survived. They used to do raised
having us cough and swat. A lot of girls was
losing their babies. But my little girl, she survived. You
(25:58):
know right now in college majoring and marketing.
Speaker 4 (26:04):
And so if you don't think you deserve life without garl,
what do you think would have been an appropriate sentence
for your for your sentenceent in your case?
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Well, what I thought when I got convicted, I was
told by the probation person that I was facing twenty
five in life. That's what I thought. Then banks passed bank,
the people versus banks in twenty fifteen came through. Okay,
(26:34):
it's if you fellowing a murder case. They got to
prove what did you do to be The burden of
proof is on the prosecutor to prove what did you
do to be a major participant? What what did you do?
Did you go get the gun, provide the guns? What
did you do? Second, what did you do recklessly to
bring about this person's device? What did you do? I
(26:58):
didn't do anything. I didn't call the police. I didn't.
I didn't that type of But I didn't physically do
anything that helped this person be killed. So then they
vacate the murder that they give you the other charges,
but they look at what did you physically do? So
(27:18):
if it's involuntary manslaughter? Involuntary manslaughter, if it's the low
term of kip napping, because I was made to get
in the car and not on a passenger side, but
I was forced to get in the car, So the
low term of kip napping. But all that other stuff, No.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
So one more question about the crime. So did you
did you witness or hear him, like with your own
ears or with your own eyes see him assaulting her
in any way?
Speaker 2 (27:53):
No?
Speaker 3 (27:53):
I did not, That's what I'm trying to tell you.
I did not. But my codefended kept me near enough.
I don't care if it was in a room away
or y'all kept me father enough, but close enough to
be charged with the charge. Charge with it. He knew
exactly what he was doing because he has an extensive
(28:13):
track record. I didn't know this. I thought that maybe
he had did time for selling drugs, okay, but I
didn't know that this person had many aliases. I didn't know.
Like my sister asked me, he had a tempted murder
on a police officer but got to quit it. I'm like,
I didn't know nothing about that never you know, So
(28:34):
I didn't know this was really a bad character. So
I just didn't know.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
Are you religious these days?
Speaker 3 (28:43):
I am? I am. I'm of Christian faith. I practiced Christianity.
I live Christianity the best of my ability, and that
is what prayer and faith is what keeps me going
every day.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
So right now, are you currently in court? What's your
case like? Is anything? Is there any movement?
Speaker 3 (29:08):
I am in a pillar court, and that a pill attorney.
He probably wanted to appreciate me doing the radio thing,
but to sing our podcast. But I've been doing it
by myself for so long that I need help. I
really need help. I gave Unite people eight thousand dollars
(29:29):
and they went get this ship. They went and they
just threw the case. They through the case, and I
gave these people eight thousand dollars to absolutely do nothing
for me. So and that's another thing when they keep
me at the whim of people that's lying about wanting
(29:51):
to represent people, and they really don't. They just want
the money. They know you're going to be in jail,
so that like it's like the joke so me because
my mother spent a lot of money on me, but
I'm still in prison. So I'm putting it out there.
I need help, sincere help.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
So is there anything that you'd like the public to
know about yourself or this case?
Speaker 3 (30:17):
Well, I want the public to understand that, to the
best of my ability, even at the beginning of the crime,
the judge even stated that I was trying to be accountable.
I was trying to be accountable. Then I knew what
I didn't do, but I knew that I could have
did something to try to help. You know, Now, after
(30:43):
all these years, I try not to be bitter about it.
I just know that I will be an asset at home.
I just know that my kids who are victims as
well as the victim my mother has been a victim
of all of this, that at least give them those
victims some vindication. That's all I ask is to give
(31:06):
my mother, my children, an opportunity to reunite with me.
I know they'll say that the deceased can't reunite with
his family, but I spent twenty seven years in prison,
and I paid off my restitution on my own, you know.
So it's like, it's not that I'm not trying to
be mineful my victim. I try to honor his memory
(31:28):
by doing good to other people, you know. So just
know that I don't take the crime likening that I
do care and I'm a human being and I'm just
asking for a second chance.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
All right. So before we do this interview, is there
anything that you'd like to talk about that we haven't
covered yet.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
I'm just at this point in the game, I'm so
freaking discouraged.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
So I don't know, I don't know, well, people get
out all the time. I mean, I wouldn't be too
discouraged because, like I tell guys on death row, like,
I'm sure it's so I'm sure it's super scary hearing
that they're going to kill you one day, But guys
get off death row all the time, and I guess
women do too sometimes, even though there's not as many
(32:14):
women on death row. But there's guys literally going home
that Like there's a guy that was on death row
for the rape and murder of a woman that I'm
interviewing soon and he killed another man. He's doing it concurrently,
and he's doing forty six and a half years for
two homicides, which isn't bad at all considered how Texas
and Florida and Ohio and Oklahoma operate, Like one homicide
(32:38):
is guaranteed contestentence, you had sixty.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Seconds remaining well. I will say this, I have helped
other people with similar cases to mine, and they're out.
I don't know if they're out because of their race.
I don't know if they're out because it's La County
and La County got gascone and I'm out of River.
This case is out of Riverside County, and they say
(33:05):
they are on crime. But everybody, to me, everybody should
be wont to correct a disparaceant. You know, it's only right.
That's part of their officers of the court. They should
want to correct a disparitan, you know, that's all they
(33:28):
So I'm discouraged, I am, and thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
That was my interview with convicted murderer Barbara Phillips. If
you'd like to support the show, go pick up some
merchan at Unforbidden truth dot org. Thank you for listening,
See you on the next one.
Welcome to unforbidden truth. I'm Andrew. Today I'll be speaking
with convicted murderer Barbara Phillips. The homicide of Uwie Durban
in Riverside County, California in nineteen ninety seven was a
brutal and premeditated crime committed by Lester Harlan Wilson and
his wife, Barbara Phillips. On June eighth, nineteen ninety seven,
Wilson and Phillips went to Durban's brother's apartment, where they
(00:37):
found Mike Durban and his family. Wilson held Mike at gunpoint,
demanded to know the whereabouts of his stolen property, and
forced the entire family to accompany him in his search
for Durban. When they encountered Durban on the street, Wilson
confronted him about the theft, and after receiving a no
satisfactory answer, forced him into the car and drove them
to their home. At their residence, the situation had escalated
(00:57):
into a horrifying ordeal, Wilson and Phillips subjected Durbin to
severe physical abuse, including a beating with fists and a
pair of gloves filled with the cell batteries, burning him
with a blow torch and pouring bleach into his wounds.
Despite the brutal assault, Durbin remained alive but unresponsive. The
couple den forced Durbin's brother's girlfriend to perform sexual acts
and threatened to kill her family if she reported the incident. Eventually,
(01:21):
they decided to release the family members, warning them against
contact and the authorities. The following morning, Durbin's body was
discovered in the drainage ditch along the Highway ninety one freeway.
He had been shot multiple times in the head, and
forensic evidence indicated that he had also suffered from blood
force trauma, burns, and other injuries consistent with torture. Investigators
found bloodstains, spent shell casings, and other atoms at the
(01:44):
crime scene and at Wilson's home, linking him to the crime.
Wilson was arrested in charge with first degree murder, kidnapping,
and torture. In two thousand, a jury convicted him of
these charges and he was sentenced to death. However, the
California Supreme Court later overturned the death sentence to an
air during jury deliberations and a retrial. In twenty ten,
Wilson was convicted again and sentenced to death. The CORN
(02:07):
affirmed the conviction in twenty twenty three, emphasizing the severity
of the crimes and the overwhelming evidence against him. Barbara
Phillips was convicted of first degree murder, kidnapping, personal use
of a firearm, torture, and GBI. She was sentenced to
life without the possibility of parole. The case of Durbin's
murder is a tragic example of extreme violence and the
devastating impact of unchecked rage. It underscores the importance of
(02:29):
thorough legal proceedings and the necessity of holding individuals accountable
for such heinous acts. Durbin's death left a lasting scar
on his family and the community, serving as a somber
reminder of the potential consequences of violent behavior. Here's my
interview with convicted murderer Barbara Phillips.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Is not a prepaid call from Barbara Phillips and Incarcerated
Individual Act the California Institution for Women, Corona, California.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
My name is Barbara Phillips and i I'm from Los Angeles, California.
Speaker 4 (03:04):
Can you recall any positive memories that stick out to
you from your childhood?
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Well, yeah, I have a lot of positive memories. I
have negative memories, but I have a lot of positives.
Like I had a rare opportunity to go to summer
camp and I think it was with the YMCA in Englewood, California,
So that was something rare for kids and my part
of the neighborhood. I went to the summer camp.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
What about can you recall any negative memories that stick
out you from your childhood?
Speaker 3 (03:42):
Well, the negative memories I can remember, you know, from
the violence in the home my mother and father, domestic
violence in the home, and then just violence in the neighborhood.
I remember when I was like five or six years old,
one of my classmates was Kipnapping killed. You know, he
was only like five or six years old like me,
(04:03):
little kids.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Oh that's crazy. Was that person ever caught? Did they
go to prison?
Speaker 3 (04:13):
No? They the person who killed my little classmate, I
don't think he was ever caught.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
Okay, that's why. Well, hopefully with new technology and everything,
he'll he or she will eventually be arrested because cold
cases are being cracked like every week. Now.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
What I learned about Los Angeles when it was people
of color that was killed, they didn't investigate it. They didn't.
They didn't investigate it. I didn't know that then as
a little kid, but as I learned when my brother
got killed when I was eighteen, they do not investigate murders.
(04:58):
They just chop him up to allay violence, are or
just another statistic, but they do not investigate it. You
have to be more affluent for your case to get investigated.
They did not investigate it.
Speaker 4 (05:11):
So did they ever investigate your brother's hombita? Is that
still open or is that closed?
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Never did. They just wrote it off as gained violence.
Never did. My older brother was shot in ninety four.
He survived and then he eventually succumbed to his injuries,
but they never investigated. So that's just something you know,
and I think that's why people get riled up with
the police. It's one thing you don't investigate our death,
(05:42):
but when you are the coport and you killed one
of ours, then yeah, you should be investigated. I'm on
the phone.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
So going back a little bit to your childhood, did
you ever suffer any type of childhood abuse or child
or yourself?
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Not I molested or anything. I was never molested or
or anything like that. I was I was a product
of my environment that I learned how to fight real
early and just learned how to fight and defend myself.
They gus probably considered me a not a bad child,
but bud me being a baby, I just learned how
(06:23):
to fight.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Who taught you to survive and how to fight?
Speaker 3 (06:28):
My my, my the brother that got killed. Oh yeah,
my other sisters because they were four and five years older.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Than me, were they were They treated good too, Like
they weren't abused or anything like that.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
No, we just saw a lot of violence. Like my
dad's side, they were more alcoholics, so his his side
of the family was around us more. And when they drink,
they fought, so we were were exposed to that.
Speaker 4 (07:01):
Okay, so your mom and dad were together, so we fought.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
Yeah, they was together up until I was about seven.
They were together.
Speaker 4 (07:10):
Okay, all right, So at home? What was your behavior
like growing up?
Speaker 3 (07:18):
Actually, I was a kid, the little girl that I
liked to play with her baby dolls. You know, I was.
I was that little girl, you know, little girl with
her easy bake oven. You know, I was that little girl.
I have somewhat of a childhood. I remember my oldest brother,
who was thirteen years older than me, and he was
(07:41):
working at that's like him, I'm still He took me
to previews after Disney, Like in Disneyland when they had
a movie preview, I was dressed up real pretty and
taking two previews. I went to ice capades. I did
things like my other siblings didn't get to do, but
I did. And that's because of my oldest other. He
(08:01):
always would try to change the ambiance or whatever was
going on. You know, I knew, like in his room,
like he had his own room because he was adult,
but I knew that when I didn't want them to
bother me, I would go to his room and just
wasting him to get off of work because I knew
that in his room, there is no arguing, there was
(08:22):
no fighting, you know, none of that.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
So what was your behavior like in school? Focusing more
on your middle school and high school years.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
School was easy for me because I was pretty smart,
so it was easy for me. I got bored. I
think in the ninth grade I got bored and I
used to start ditching school because I was really really bored.
I would literally go and sleep in history and make
an a and I'll be sleeping our class. But somehow
(08:58):
I absorbed it or something. But I was just really smart,
and I got bored and I ditch. But I liked school.
I loved to learn, have always loved to learn. So
just basic, I started working in high school. I started
working at fifteen, so I had a job at McDonald's.
(09:19):
That was one of my real first jobs of clocking in.
Just went to school, went to work, come home.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
So did you engage in any criminal activity as a juvenile, No,
never did. What about as an adult prior to the
cases you're serving timeport down, No I didn't. So what
was life like before you as an adult, prior to
coming to prison? What was life like then?
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Well?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
I had my first daughter at twenty years old. I
was in a relationship with her father and he was
really abusive. So I've learned since being in prison is
that I attracted the same type of relationship that I
saw my parents in, which was abusive, and I was abused.
(10:18):
Like fault kid socks, I was axbused. So when I
finally left, I left and being my other kids father,
I had made up my mind that I needed to
figure out a career choice. So that with my second daughter,
that's when I went in and enrolled in school, in
(10:39):
nursing school.
Speaker 4 (10:40):
So I went to.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
School to be a nurse.
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Is that what you wanted to do with your life?
Become a nurse?
Speaker 3 (10:48):
Yeah? Well I realized that it became a passion. I
was always interested in medical fielm and I enjoyed it.
And it gave me an opportunity to take care of
my children. You know, even like when my children, I
didn't give child support, so I just took care of
my kids with the money I made. That my mother
(11:10):
she will babysit for me, so I have support from her.
And that's who eventually raised my children, was my mom.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
So you mentioned the abuse. Was that abuse from Lester Wilson?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
My chans the abuse I suffered with him. I saw
the red flat like when you was shaking start or
he didn't choke me, but he will push me, you
know what I mean. But it would start, it was
starting to escalate. His abuse was more financial and pushing
and shaking.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
So before we talked about the crimes that took place,
can you talk about how you met your for defending
Lester Wilson.
Speaker 3 (11:59):
Okay, so let me explain to you something with my
daughter's father. He was like the sole provider. He took
care of me. Yes, he and he sold drugs, but
he took care of me. And in his mind, I
guess because he was taking care of me that he
felt he could fight me and all that. I was
(12:20):
literally like a housewife. And the abuse was more verbal abuse,
physical abuse, emotional abuse. It was that and I mean
he hit all cycles of the will. So when I
met the code defended, I met the code defended when
(12:43):
I met his mother. So between the two of them,
it was like, that's what convinced me to be with him.
I did not know he had thirty eight lias his name.
I did not know a lot like their whole intentions was.
I guess she wanted the baby with an African American mother.
I was pregnant and I lost the baby because of
(13:06):
the stress he was putting me under. I got pregnant again,
so they know I'm pregnant. He cut the brake lines
on the car. I mean, he was doing gaslight and stuff.
He's the one, now that I really look at it
and reflect on it, he's the one who set the
house up.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
To be robbed.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
Hell, he probably helped rob it, but needed somebody to blame.
He needed a way to kick off my anger. I'm
already the whole six months I was with him, I
was probably angry every day trying to figure out how
to get away from him. But none of this is
ever really reflected on because I did not my lawyer
(13:49):
never presented.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
Anything like that.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
Okay, So let's talk about the crime or crimes that
took place. Can you walk me through everything that led
us to the kidnapping a murder of uved Derwan and
talked about each charge you picked up, well to thing about.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
Each charge that was picked up. And I'm gonna have
to do a a disclaimer Andrew, Okay again, because because
if you only go on by what's on the trial record,
if you go by what's on the trial record, it
was all done to assist him. My lawyer did not
(14:31):
have a license, so nothing was preserved for me. So
I got a charge like curiously from the acts of others,
not because I physically did anything. I did what he
told me to do. But nobody don't know that I
was never allowed to drive my car again once we
(14:52):
got back to the house. Nobody don't know that I'm
telling him to carry this off because they don't want
to know that. They want to make it seem like,
oh they were inkol, who's together. No, I didn't want
it to escalate like that. And the cloud records it
says that me and the victim's brother took a bike back.
(15:15):
We took the bike back. I didn't have a gun.
They took the bike back together to come back together.
I'm telling him to let him take him to the
hospital or whatever. But again they twisted in and turned
it around. Because I never had anybody to present an
affirmative defense for me. So it's really hard for me
(15:36):
to say this because they'll go back and say, oh, well,
she's lying, but nothing was ever presented for me. So
I mean, if we go with the record, I don't know.
That's why I keep trying to challenge the record. I
keep challenging the record. They don't want me to.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Right.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
So what you say, it's not on record, and it's
not right.
Speaker 4 (16:00):
So so I know you're saying you did not participate, right?
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Did you?
Speaker 4 (16:06):
Did you witness it or were you not witness?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Not president when the person got shot?
Speaker 4 (16:13):
No, I didn't witness it, okay, but.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
He kept me. He kept me close enough to him,
so I can be charged with it when I when
I think when I got to County jail, he started
sending letters like, hey, they go easier on first time offenders.
So basically like cops to something I didn't do. I
didn't witness, but he was trying to influence me to
(16:37):
cop to it. I'm like, I got three little kids.
I'm pregnant, but I got three little kids at home.
I don't have nobody. He don't care. He didn't care.
He didn't care.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
So how long after the crime took place where you
two arrested?
Speaker 3 (16:55):
It was just you two, right, Yeah, it was just
us to the arrested. It from I think the It
was around like eleven or twelve at night, and they
came that morning. Because we went back to the house.
He made me take off all my clothes, I guessed
to keep me from running. So when then the police
(17:17):
had come, I literally ran out the house neked. But
my jury never knew that because I was scared he
was going to use me as a like a shill
or something, so I ran.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
And what happened to him?
Speaker 3 (17:33):
No, he came down. But because once he saw me run,
you was not using me for a shill. I ran.
You know, they put me in like a little holding
self for eight hours. They didn't interrogate me for eight
They left me in a little holding self for eight hour,
a little dark holding self for eight hours, no bathroom,
no water, no nothing. And then when they interrogate me,
(17:59):
they are telling me straight up, we're gonna have CPS
go pick up your children in Marino Valley. Well, who
knows my kids are in Marinal Valley. But my co defended,
you're trying to send CPS to get my kids. I mean,
you know what I mean. It's just it was a lot.
It was a lot.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
It was.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
It was he was using the system to destroy me.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
When the co defended up, let's call Andre. Our telephone
number will be monitored and recorded.
Speaker 3 (18:28):
That's still locked up. I had never met him, He
had never met me, and he said, hey, man, she's pregnant.
Let your wife go. He said, oh, I'm not doing
a life sentence for nobody. So they let me know
that you basically, it's gonna ride this out until I
have all your charges.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
What charge is he convicted of?
Speaker 3 (18:52):
I was convicted of all of his charges to separate
and the lady was trying to put rape charges on
me and I knew nothing of rate, Like you know,
it was stuff going on that I did not know about.
But like I have a gun charge, I have a
GBI charge, I have a de torture charge, and I'm like,
I need't witness the torture and I need torture nobody,
(19:13):
but I have it because he got it. The kip. Now,
I was made to get in the passenger side and
I never came in contact with the victim at all,
but the kip. Now, It's like when I look at
taking my victims classes, victim intact classes, and I'm like, well,
I should have called the police so I could have
(19:34):
did this different. I was replaying on what I possibly
could have done. So I get it. And that's I
come to this day. I'm not trying to say, hey,
I need to be held responsible or comforable for what
I actually did, but a life without sitting for a
murder that I had no intention of doing. Though, and
(19:56):
now that I've served, I've been down twenty seven years. Now.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
Were you offered any plevials before you went to trial?
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Never, so you.
Speaker 4 (20:05):
Took it to trial the whole way and you got life.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
Without They never offered me in.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
So how did you react emotionally when they read that
sentence out?
Speaker 3 (20:17):
I cried because I was really begging for her to
really hear me out that I was an abused woman.
I was begging, like, basically a sentence that reflect what
I actually did. You know what I mean? But I
think the lady and she died Judge Sherman, she died
(20:39):
a breath counsel, but she was like, no, I can
only give you a mandatory sentence. But I do remember
her telling my jury, don't you don't worry about what
sentence you give. Whatever you convict her of is what
you're convictor of. I'm the one who sentenced is her,
So y'all don't worry about that. But so my jury
never knew. Yes, it convicts me a first degree murder.
(21:01):
But you would think that I would have got twenty
five of life or something like that. And that's what
I thought. I was facing twenty five of life, not
a mandatory life without tool.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
So do you remember what the Busser van Right was
like after being sentenced, Like, like what it was like
on your way to prison.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
I was devastated. I had already been separated from my children.
I was gonna be sent seven to eight hours away,
and I was gonna never like really see or hold
my children. Now, when I got there, I was closed custody.
So I did a whole full fifteen years of being
(21:39):
close custody. So you know, it was a challenge, you know.
I mean, my kids still loved me, and they know
I love them, but it's they I encouraged them to
go forward with their life, but it's hard. It's hard
on all of us. And my mom My mom is
eighty two now, so it's really hard. My dad died so.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Uh So your dad passed away while you were in prison?
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Yes, he did. Doctor Phil. I did a Doctor Phil
show two thousand and eighty ten or something, and he
was asking us, like, how do you tell your children
you're never coming home. I thought I would not ever
tell my kids that. Yeah, you tell him never say never,
Doctor Phil.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
Yeah, Yeah, that would be tough. Whether you were doing
life or death for that matter, it would be hard
to tell your kids that, for sure.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
I don't have.
Speaker 4 (22:43):
Uh So, nowadays, how do you spend your time in prison?
Speaker 3 (22:47):
Well, I'm in the media center. I work in the
media center as a media technician. I work I'm learning
how to take pictures with photography, and I'm learning how
to edit film when we do videos of graduations. We
did our first cook show in prison, the first in
(23:09):
the state of California. So learning how to create content,
positive content for the community. And I'm in college again.
I can't I went back when this college is in
person professors, so it's a it's different. So I'm doing
(23:30):
that the occupy my time.
Speaker 4 (23:33):
Oh, really, is that for your associates or is that
beyond that?
Speaker 3 (23:37):
Is that what? Oh? It's what associates again, because when
I graduated from Coastline, they never acknowledged me. They never
acknowledged me because I'm a life without parole, so I've
never had a graduation and all that stuff. What's your
major right now? There's Liberal arts. But when I got
the other AA was in behavior and social science, okay,
(24:02):
because I was actually I wasn't. I wasn't accepted into
the bachelor's program, but they maneuvered me up out of it.
So you know, I just have to go with the flow.
You just got to pick your battles, especially when you're
a alwop because the airwop you're low. You're a low man.
On his totem pole, You're not a priority, so we
(24:24):
just have to get in where we fit in.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
Right, Yeah, I understand life without Parle and destinences for
that matter. It's never impossible to get anything or get
anything done or like do anything positive when it comes
to like rehabilitation or school or whatever, because they stay,
you don't need it and it's a waste of time,
money and efforts, and which is kind of sad.
Speaker 3 (24:46):
But right, I.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
Mean, but people get out of Like there's guys going
home that had death sentences in California right now because
of the labratorium and being shipped all over there being
resentand so it's it's kind of crazy they are.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
But the women that we're at a stand still, he
only commuted two women this last go around, two women,
the other ones. We're all out of stand still and
it's people been down forty and fifty years, you know. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (25:14):
Yeah, I've met some people that are christ rated for
almost forty years, and I think that's really crazy. I
can only imagine there's people that have been in prison
for almost fifty years. Yeah, that's that's just wild to me.
That's really sad. Like Charles Benson, he was in prison
for sixty something years or I don't know how long
(25:35):
he was in prison for.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
I gave birth in prison in County jail, and they
made me why those big old chunk was too big
for me. Ankles, shackle waist, shain zone. It's a miracle
that my little girl survived. They used to do raised
having us cough and swat. A lot of girls was
losing their babies. But my little girl, she survived. You
(25:58):
know right now in college majoring and marketing.
Speaker 4 (26:04):
And so if you don't think you deserve life without garl,
what do you think would have been an appropriate sentence
for your for your sentenceent in your case?
Speaker 3 (26:12):
Well, what I thought when I got convicted, I was
told by the probation person that I was facing twenty
five in life. That's what I thought. Then banks passed bank,
the people versus banks in twenty fifteen came through. Okay,
(26:34):
it's if you fellowing a murder case. They got to
prove what did you do to be The burden of
proof is on the prosecutor to prove what did you
do to be a major participant? What what did you do?
Did you go get the gun, provide the guns? What
did you do? Second, what did you do recklessly to
bring about this person's device? What did you do? I
(26:58):
didn't do anything. I didn't call the police. I didn't.
I didn't that type of But I didn't physically do
anything that helped this person be killed. So then they
vacate the murder that they give you the other charges,
but they look at what did you physically do? So
(27:18):
if it's involuntary manslaughter? Involuntary manslaughter, if it's the low
term of kip napping, because I was made to get
in the car and not on a passenger side, but
I was forced to get in the car, So the
low term of kip napping. But all that other stuff, No.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
So one more question about the crime. So did you
did you witness or hear him, like with your own
ears or with your own eyes see him assaulting her
in any way?
Speaker 2 (27:53):
No?
Speaker 3 (27:53):
I did not, That's what I'm trying to tell you.
I did not. But my codefended kept me near enough.
I don't care if it was in a room away
or y'all kept me father enough, but close enough to
be charged with the charge. Charge with it. He knew
exactly what he was doing because he has an extensive
(28:13):
track record. I didn't know this. I thought that maybe
he had did time for selling drugs, okay, but I
didn't know that this person had many aliases. I didn't know.
Like my sister asked me, he had a tempted murder
on a police officer but got to quit it. I'm like,
I didn't know nothing about that never you know, So
(28:34):
I didn't know this was really a bad character. So
I just didn't know.
Speaker 4 (28:41):
Are you religious these days?
Speaker 3 (28:43):
I am? I am. I'm of Christian faith. I practiced Christianity.
I live Christianity the best of my ability, and that
is what prayer and faith is what keeps me going
every day.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
So right now, are you currently in court? What's your
case like? Is anything? Is there any movement?
Speaker 3 (29:08):
I am in a pillar court, and that a pill attorney.
He probably wanted to appreciate me doing the radio thing,
but to sing our podcast. But I've been doing it
by myself for so long that I need help. I
really need help. I gave Unite people eight thousand dollars
(29:29):
and they went get this ship. They went and they
just threw the case. They through the case, and I
gave these people eight thousand dollars to absolutely do nothing
for me. So and that's another thing when they keep
me at the whim of people that's lying about wanting
(29:51):
to represent people, and they really don't. They just want
the money. They know you're going to be in jail,
so that like it's like the joke so me because
my mother spent a lot of money on me, but
I'm still in prison. So I'm putting it out there.
I need help, sincere help.
Speaker 4 (30:10):
So is there anything that you'd like the public to
know about yourself or this case?
Speaker 3 (30:17):
Well, I want the public to understand that, to the
best of my ability, even at the beginning of the crime,
the judge even stated that I was trying to be accountable.
I was trying to be accountable. Then I knew what
I didn't do, but I knew that I could have
did something to try to help. You know, Now, after
(30:43):
all these years, I try not to be bitter about it.
I just know that I will be an asset at home.
I just know that my kids who are victims as
well as the victim my mother has been a victim
of all of this, that at least give them those
victims some vindication. That's all I ask is to give
(31:06):
my mother, my children, an opportunity to reunite with me.
I know they'll say that the deceased can't reunite with
his family, but I spent twenty seven years in prison,
and I paid off my restitution on my own, you know.
So it's like, it's not that I'm not trying to
be mineful my victim. I try to honor his memory
(31:28):
by doing good to other people, you know. So just
know that I don't take the crime likening that I
do care and I'm a human being and I'm just
asking for a second chance.
Speaker 4 (31:41):
All right. So before we do this interview, is there
anything that you'd like to talk about that we haven't
covered yet.
Speaker 3 (31:47):
I'm just at this point in the game, I'm so
freaking discouraged.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
So I don't know, I don't know, well, people get
out all the time. I mean, I wouldn't be too
discouraged because, like I tell guys on death row, like,
I'm sure it's so I'm sure it's super scary hearing
that they're going to kill you one day, But guys
get off death row all the time, and I guess
women do too sometimes, even though there's not as many
(32:14):
women on death row. But there's guys literally going home
that Like there's a guy that was on death row
for the rape and murder of a woman that I'm
interviewing soon and he killed another man. He's doing it concurrently,
and he's doing forty six and a half years for
two homicides, which isn't bad at all considered how Texas
and Florida and Ohio and Oklahoma operate, Like one homicide
(32:38):
is guaranteed contestentence, you had sixty.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Seconds remaining well. I will say this, I have helped
other people with similar cases to mine, and they're out.
I don't know if they're out because of their race.
I don't know if they're out because it's La County
and La County got gascone and I'm out of River.
This case is out of Riverside County, and they say
(33:05):
they are on crime. But everybody, to me, everybody should
be wont to correct a disparaceant. You know, it's only right.
That's part of their officers of the court. They should
want to correct a disparitan, you know, that's all they
(33:28):
So I'm discouraged, I am, and thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
That was my interview with convicted murderer Barbara Phillips. If
you'd like to support the show, go pick up some
merchan at Unforbidden truth dot org. Thank you for listening,
See you on the next one.
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