John Dwight Phillips appears before Judge William T. Boyett in Murray County, Ga., Superior Court on Monday for jury selection. Phillips is charged with homicide in the beating death of his mother’s boyfriend, Tommy Walraven, during a drunken argument on Christmas day last year.CHATSWORTH, Ga. – John Dwight Phillips, the man who beat his mother’s boyfriend to death last Christmas, will go to prison for up to 10 years.
A Murray County jury found Phillips guilty of involuntary manslaughter after deliberating for about 1- 1/2 hours Wednesday evening, the second day of a trial that pitted the testimony of a mother against her son. Phillips, whom deputies led out of court in handcuffs, will next appear in court on Nov. 12 for a hearing to determine specifically how long he will go to prison.
Involuntary manslaughter convictions carry a sentence of 1-10 years.
On Christmas morning, Phillips got into an argument with his wife. He then visited a friend, drank 15-20 beers, told his family he was going to kill himself, drove home, fired a shot at a dog in his front yard and drove to the Smyrna Church Road home of his mother, Terry Lynn Welch.
There, he got in an argument with Tommy Randall Walraven, Welch’s boyfriend of 13 years. Walraven, 62, told Phillips to leave. Phillips told Walraven to leave. During the argument, police say, Walraven grabbed a shotgun and shoved it into Phillips’ stomach.