HUNTINGTON PARK - A 45-year-old man convicted of the 1987 stabbing deaths of a Huntington Park couple was ordered last week to spend the remainder of his life in prison.Norwalk Superior Court Judge John Torribio sentenced Donald Eugene Phillips to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Following a five-week trial, jurors deliberated just over a day before convicting Phillips on Nov. 8, 2011, of the first-degree murders of Edna and George Darrow. Jurors found true the special circumstance allegations of murder during a robbery or attempted robbery, murder during a burglary or attempted burglary and multiple murders. Jurors also found true the allegation that Phillips used a knife to commit the crimes. The victims, both in their 70s, were stabbed to death sometime between April 16-19, 1987. The case was originally presented for filing considering near the time of the killings but was rejected due to insufficient evidence. Years later, Detective Steve Davis of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Unsolved Homicide Unit - a specialized unit that takes a new look at cold cases - re-investigated the murders. That re-investigation led to criminal charges being filed at Phillips in November 2006.

********** Published: January 26, 2012 - Volume 10 - Issue 41