J.D. Phillips

*This article includes content which may be disturbing to some readers, such as excessive violence or sexual assault/abuse. Discretion is advised.*

## J.D. Phillips

* Living photo
* Age progressed

### Classification

Suspected homicide

**Jack Daniel "J.D." Phillips** was a boy who disappeared in 1995. His photo is shown age-progressed to 35 years.

## Case

On August 6, 1995, J.D. was picnicking at the Aspen Glen Picnic grounds with his mother, her boyfriend, and his toddler half-brother. He was last seen between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m., his mother saw him walking towards a nearby park that afternoon and another child reported seeing J.D. walking from the picnic area towards his residence at about 5:30. Extensive searches were conducted starting at 9:00 that night and throughout the following days, but no sign of him was found.

Several days after J.D. vanished, a family friend living in Bakersfield, California received a collect call and thought she heard J.D.'s voice when the caller was supposed to identify himself. However, the person hung up by the time she could accept the call. Investigators were unable to confirm if J.D. was the caller.

J.D.'s mother and her boyfriend had an argument the day of his disappearance and J.D. reportedly told a friend that he was tired of the arguing. His mother and her boyfriend are not suspects in his disappearance. J.D.'s father was in a Bakersfield prison in 1995. His parents have since reconciled and moved to West Virginia.

James Crummel is the prime suspect in J.D.'s case, as well as the 1979 disappearance of Charles "Chris" Francis. Crummel had a long history as a violent sexual offender. He abducted, assaulted, and almost killed a 14-year-old boy in Wisconsin in 1967 and was sentenced to 35 years in prison, but only served 5. In 1983, he was convicted of the 1967 murder of another boy in Arizona, but the conviction was overturned in 1987 due to ineffective counsel. He then pleaded guilty to kidnapping and was released the same year.

In 1997, Crummel was arrested for the murder of James "Jamey" Trotter. At this time, Crummel stated that he would confess to J.D.'s murder if he could avoid the possibility of the death penalty. Prosecutors rejected the offer and he was convicted of Trotter's murder and sentenced to death in 2004. He died by suicide in 2012.

Crummel lived only a few blocks away from Aspen Glen at the time of J.D.'s disappearance and allegedly confessed to a cellmate that he had killed the boy. He was never charged in the case, but investigators believe that he murdered J.D. and may have dumped his body in the ocean.

## Characteristics

* Brown hair.
* Brown eyes.
* Freckles.
* Scar on his left cheek.
* Pierced left ear.
* Gap between his front two teeth.
* Still had baby teeth at the time of his disappearance.

## Clothing and accessories

* Blank tank top.
* Gray shorts with the Tasmanian Devil on one leg.
* White socks.
* White tennis shoes.
* Gold earring.

## Sources

* J.D. Phillips at *NamUs*
* J.D. Phillips at *NCMEC*
* J.D. Phillips at the *Charley Project*
* J.D. Phillips at the *Doe Network*
* J.D. Phillips at the *California Department of Justice*
* *The Los Angeles Times*