Father of boy who killed girl dies in crash

(ran SS edition of Metro & State)

Steve Phillips, the father of a Jacksonville teenager who killed 8-year-old neighbor Maddie Clifton in 1998, died in the crash of his van near Tallahassee on Tuesday night.

Phillips, father of 16-year-old Joshua Phillips, was killed about 11:15 p.m., about 10 miles south of Tallahassee, said Lt. Bill Leeper of the Florida Highway Patrol.

Police said Phillips, 50, who was alone, was thrown out of the van and died at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt.

Phillips' son was convicted last July of first-degree murder in Maddie's slaying and sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.

Maddie, who lived across the street from the Phillipses, disappeared Nov. 3, 1998, from the front yard of her home, setting off a massive search. Joshua Phillips' mother discovered the girl's body under the youth's water bed a week later.