GLADE PARK, Colo. (KREX) — Glade Park, Colorado is home to just under a thousand people in the plains, canyons and forests on top of the Colorado National Monument.
This quiet community is now at the forefront of attention after a homicide off A 3/4 Rd.
Glade Park neighbor Dixie Barns grew close with Thomas Phillips and his wife through small community barbeques. She recounts the wife to be, “just a sweet, sweet person, she always brought the best food to the cookout, we were always excited to see what she was going to bring, and she was always a treat.”
Sunday afternoon, however, Thomas arrived home to find his wife deceased, according to Mesa County Sheriff’s Office.
Their press release also states the suspect was taken into custody by Fruita Police Department, then transported to MCSO.
The suspect? Zeth Phillips, the couple’s son.
His charges include Murder in the 2nd Degree Not Heat of Passion, 1st Degree Burglary, and 2nd Degree Motor Vehicle Theft.
Zeth Phillips made a virtual court appearance at 1:30 pm Monday. His father, however, attended in person, where he took the stand to deliver a heartbreaking message to his son, stating, “I forgive you, I love you, and I’m praying for you.”
At the end of court, a bond was set for $1,000,000, cash only.
Barns tells WesternSlopeNow she is not worried about a continued threat, a statement also shared by MCSO.
Glade Park Rancher Jeremy Carns says homicides are nothing new within the history of Glade Park – water rights have caused several deaths over the decades.
There’s one thing Jeremy says he knows for sure…”the crime up here is getting quite a bit worse. It makes you concerned for your kids and your family, I can tell you that.”
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