LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A woman suspected of fatally stabbing a 3-year-old child she was babysitting will be held without bail, a Las Vegas judge ordered on Thursday morning.
The child has since been identified by the Clark County coroner as Journei Ross. Officials determined she died from multiple stab wounds and ruled her death a homicide.
Las Vegas police say the child was found with stab wounds as her father returned home at approximately 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. She was taken to Sunrise Hospital for treatment but did not survive her injuries.
The child's babysitter, 41-year-old Marketta Lucresha Phillips, was immediately identified as a suspect in the killing, Lt. Robert Price of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told reporters on Wednesday.
Price said Phillips was located by police a short distance from the family's home near Eastern Avenue and Flamingo Road, police said. She was booked into the Clark County Detention Center for open murder with a deadly weapon.
Phillips appeared in court Thursday morning for an initial arraignment, where Judge Suzan Baucum ordered her held without bail. She is scheduled back in court on April 1.
