Battery lands Phillips in prison

FAYETTEVILLE -- A Springdale man pleaded guilty Thursday to battering his ex-wife last summer and leaving her alone for six hours before seeking medical help for her.

Julie Phillips had a fractured jawbone and skull, several serious lacerations and possible damage to her left eye, according to police. Her injuries were possibly caused by being run over by a tractor and being beaten, according to police.

The incident took place July 24 at 22236 Butler Ford Road, according to court documents.

Greeley Ryan Phillips, 44, pleaded guilty to first-degree battery. Washington County Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay sentenced him to 15 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction with three years suspended.

Phillips also pleaded guilty to violating probation for a prior domestic battery conviction and was sentenced to 10 years. The two sentences will run concurrently.

Phillips was originally charged with attempted capital murder, but the charge was amended because there were no fewer than four different versions of what happened, according to John Snyder, assistant prosecuting attorney.

Snyder said Julie Phillips and Greeley Phillips gave multiple accounts of what happened. They ranged from her being run over by a tractor and brush mower to falling from a tractor to being hit in the head with the handset from a rotary telephone to falling from a pickup.

Greeley Phillips had been set for trial next week.

NW News on 10/13/2017

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