An October 1 sentencing date has been set for a Jefferson City man who’s been convicted of involuntary manslaughter for the death of his live-in girlfriend near Taos in 2022.
25-year-old Joshua Wilbers has been convicted of first degree involuntary manslaughter, which is a class C felony. Cole County prosecutor Locke Thompson tells 939 the Eagle that Wilbers faces up to ten years in prison.
This was a bench trial, which is a trial by a judge rather than a trial by jury. Cole County Judge Jon Beetem presided during the trial and heard five hours of testimony on Tuesday, before announcing the verdict on Wednesday afternoon. Hallie Phillips, a Mizzou student, was killed in November 2022. Phillips’ family cried in the courtroom when the verdict was read in open court.
Wilbers did not take the stand during the bench trial.
The Cole County Sheriff’s probable cause statement quotes Wilbers as telling deputies that he recently purchased a 22-rifle and planned to go outside to shoot the gun. Court documents quote Wilbers as telling deputies that Phillips asked him about the firing pin. Wilbers says he removed the magazine from the bolt action gun and cycled the bolt back at least twice to ensure there was not a shell in the gun’s chamber. Wilbers says he looked down at the firearm and pulled the trigger and it fired, striking Phillips in the face. She was flown to Columbia’s University Hospital by helicopter and died about 90 minutes after the shooting.
Hallie Phillips was a junior at Mizzou at the time of her death. The “Columbia Missourian” reports the Hallie Phillips Memorial Fund was set up in her honor at Mizzou to award scholarships to female applicants studying animal science.