Schwab pleads guilty to girl friend’s murder
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - UPDATE: April 20, 2021-Philip Schwab entered a guilty plea to the charge of First Degree Murder Tuesday. He will appear before 7th District Judge Bruce Pickett for sentencing on June 30.
UPDATE: November 26, 2019: The Bonneville County Prosecutor’s Office filed notice November 22 that the state would not seek the death penalty in Phillip Schwab’s murder case.
Original Story:
The man charged of stabbing his girlfriend, Kaylynn Blue, and burying her in the backyard's flower bed of their Idaho Falls townhouse appeared in court for his arraignment on Tuesday.
When Judge Bruce Pickett asked Phillip Schwab how he pleaded to the charge of first-degree murder, he replied, "Not guilty."
On June 24, officers went to Schwab's and Blue's home on a welfare check since Blue hadn't been to work for multiple days. When officers arrived, they noticed blood in the house. After speaking with Schwab, officers took him into custody. Once a search warrant was obtained, Blue's body was found in a shallow grave in the backyard with multiple stab wounds.
According to court documents, Schwab explained and confessed to detectives why and how he murdered Blue. Schwab told detectives he had placed a knife in a dresser drawer days before the stabbing occurred. Court documents said Schwab stabbed Blue in the neck while she was sleeping early that Sunday morning. As she tried to run away, he continued to stab her until she was dead, documents said.
In court Tuesday morning, Judge Pickett asked the prosecution if they were planning on pursuing the death penalty. They replied the decision had been discussed back and forth but that they hadn't made a final decision just yet.
A status conference is scheduled for January 28, 2020.
Schwab's pre-trial is scheduled for February 25, 2020, and his jury trial is scheduled for March 9, 2020.
