Chandler Grafner threatened to kill parents for a drink
Chilling message played for jurors in murder trial
By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News (Contact), Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published July 31, 2008 at 4:37 p.m.
Dominic Phillips, left, and Chandler Grafner
Chandler Grafner with Sarah Berry in photo showing the youngster getting his hair groomed
Jon Phillips is on trial for first- degree murder and child abuse.
Photo showing possible injury to the ear of Chandler Grafner
Chandler Grafner was so desperate for food and water that he threatened to get a knife and kill his parents if they didn't give him a drink, jurors heard in a phone message Thursday.
The chilling recording, left nine days before Chandler died, appears to defy statements Jon Phillips made to police that the 7- year-old boy was well fed and had water to drink.
Prosecutors played a recorded cell phone message from Sarah Berry to Phillips on April 28, 2007, telling him, "Dominic (Chandler's younger half-brother) just called me over and said Chandler told him you and I better get him something to drink or he's going to get out of there, go to the kitchen and get a knife and kill us both."
Phillips, 27, is on trial for first- degree murder and child abuse in Chandler's death by starvation and dehydration. Berry, 23, is also charged and will stand trial later.
Defense attorneys contend that Chandler died from ketoacidosis due to an undiagnosed case of diabetes.
Prosecutors, however, say Chandler was slowly starved to death after he was put in a locked closet where he was kept in the dark without food and water.
Deodorizers filled home
Detective Larry Moore, who went to the apartment where Chandler died, said it was filled with the stench of feces and urine despite obvious efforts to clean the place up.
He said a fan in the bathroom, set on "high," was sucking air out of the area where the closet was located. He said he also found air purifiers, air filters and cans of air freshener all over the apartment.
Moore said Chandler was kept in the bottom of a linen closet in an area that measured 35 inches wide, 29 inches deep and 18 inches tall.
The walls, floor and bottom of the lowest shelf were smeared with human feces, he said.
Moore said a note was tacked on one of the apartment walls that read, "God says listen to Mom and Dad. Do not lie. Do not steal. Do not blame your brother for what you do. Be thankful for what you have."
Next to the note was a photo of the two boys "with what looked like prison bars drawn over," Moore said.
Jurors also heard from Amy Domanski, teacher's aide for Chandler's kindergarten class at Holm Elementary School, who tearfully described her relationship with Chandler, a happy boy whom she said loved school.
Domanski was the first to notice when Chandler came to school Jan. 17, 2007, with a blackened ear and confided to her, "My dad clobbered me."
Domanski also testified she noticed red marks on Chandler's neck at the time, and when she asked him what happened, he replied, "My dad squeezed my neck."
She said when she asked Chandler why his father "clobbered" him, he told her that it was because he had been fighting with Dominic.
Domanski also described an incident in which it appeared that Chandler was being coached in his responses when asked about his injuries.
On March 6, when Chandler went to school with puffy eyes, Chandler told her, "I know, I was supposed to tell you I have pink eye," she testified.
But in her last conversation with Chandler, she said, "He asked me to stop interrogating him because when I do, he gets into so much trouble," Domanski said. "He was begging me, he was pleading. How I saw it, it was a plea."
Chandler's kindergarten teacher, Beverly Kibble, said she saw Chandler's ear, which she described as "very blue," on Jan. 17, but did not notice any marks or bruises on his neck.
She also testified that Chandler was telling other students several days afterward that his parents were angry at his teachers for calling the police.
When Kibble told him that she just wanted to make sure he was OK, "He took a deep breath, and said, 'Anyway, I just fell down in the shower,' " she said.
Acting principal Maureen Hogan said she was the one who called social services after seeing Chandler on Jan. 17.
lindsays@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5181
At a glance
* On trial: Jon Phillips.
* Charges: First-degree murder and child abuse resulting in the starvation death of 7-year-old Chandler Grafner.
* Thursday developments: Jurors heard a phone message revealing that Chandler was so desperate for sustenance that he threatened to kill his parents for a drink of water. Denver Detective Larry Moore finished testimony. Jurors heard from Amy Domanski, a teacher's aide in Chandler's kindergarten class at Holm Elementary School.
* What's next: Testimony from more teachers and staff at Holm Elementary, who first reported abuse. The coroner who performed the autopsy is expected to testify.
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July 31, 2008
5:13 p.m.
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Who_Me writes:
They should both be starved to death. Or just before it, then nursed back to health a bit, cycle repeating until they do die.
July 31, 2008
6:20 p.m.
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Star_Dust writes:
Their time has come. A very small confined area is where they need to find themselves.., and left there. Sorry, no sympathy for those two.
July 31, 2008
7:05 p.m.
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SL10 writes:
Execute the couple by starvation. Enough said.
July 31, 2008
7:53 p.m.
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LadyBird112 writes:
What kind of people do this to an innocent child? Sick, sick, sick. Execute them both. There shouldn't even be a trial. Let's hope that the jury won't fall for that bul$h1t defense.
July 31, 2008
8:35 p.m.
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thumper writes:
Many countries jail scum like these two and if they're families don't take care of them they die...pure and simple. Too good for these two but I'd be all for it rather than spend my tax dollars keeping them alive.
July 31, 2008
8:40 p.m.
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thumper writes:
Oooops...mis-spelled above. I meant their families instead of they're families. Point still gets across, I hope. Nothing can bring this precious boy back. Makes me sick thinking of what he went through.
July 31, 2008
9 p.m.
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maithoughts writes:
Let me get this straight, abuse was reported in January and the boy died in April. Where was social services and the police? Why are they not on trail?
July 31, 2008
10:41 p.m.
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Alexandra writes:
maithoughts writes:
"Let me get this straight, abuse was reported in January and the boy died in April. Where was social services and the police? Why are they not on trail?"
I am sure you meant on trial and I have to agree. I read this thing and it makes me so sick and sad inside. I have a six year old boy and I cannot IMAGINE putting a child through this. What kind of a person does this and then sits there with that FACE (see picture) and lets the attorneys say these ridiculous things. It really makes me sick.
I wish there were a large group of lawyers that would get together and hold Social Services accountable. That would be good.
I am saddened to the core and I hope they get the most severe punishment they can get. I wish it was death by beating and starvation, but that isn't the culture we live in.
Pity.
-Alex
August 1, 2008
4:08 a.m.
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roger44 writes:
The state failed to protect this young man.
August 1, 2008
6:46 a.m.
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vudumom writes:
There are not enough tortures that I could think of that would begin to punish these monsters for what they did to Chandler.
What is really sad about the whole sad life he had was that from the day he was born he never really had a chance at life because of his breeders, child protection( an oxymoron in this state) and the evil Philips and Berry. His brother will also be scarred forever.
Any CPS employee connected with this case should be fired.
August 1, 2008
6:57 a.m.
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jtriska writes:
You want to know where social services might have been? I went through a nasty divorce with an extremely bitter ex. I was parentally alienated. About a year ago my son was found with a note stating that he wanted to shoot me. School calls social services. They were up my @$$ sideways for three weeks. They just don't have time for the real criminals out there.
August 1, 2008
7 a.m.
Suggest removal
jtriska writes:
P.S. Please Lord just give me five minutes alone with this Jon Phillips. Judge, jury, executioner. Case closed. Wash my hands, grab a bite to eat and sleep like a baby.
August 1, 2008
7:12 a.m.
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Denver1212 writes:
Teachers and Principals, remember the value of home visits...
August 1, 2008
7:27 a.m.
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hdfresh writes:
Even by chance in hell these monsters are found not guilty they will be no longer a part of society. They are not going to be able to live in the U.S with people knowing what they did to this poor child.
August 1, 2008
7:33 a.m.
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fiesty writes:
Normally, when people cry "where was social services", I dismiss it because they are not omnipotent (i.e. couldn't know because no one reported it). Plus, social services tend to be in a "d*mned if you do, d*mnd if you don't" scenario since people tend to complain when social services gets involved (i.e. busybodies) but then also complain when they don't.
Yet in this case, they WERE notified- teachers/school reported several times. Both the physical evidence (bruised ear, neck marks) and child's comments DEFINITELY warranted intervention. Yet, not only was the child left in the home, but apparently no follow-up visits were made in the 3 months since the report and his death! This is unbelievable. His death was completely avoidable. I can't imagine what he went through, or what his teachers (who obviously cared and reported it) must be feeling.
August 1, 2008
8:20 a.m.
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davies writes:
I'm not so sure there were no follow-up visits. I guess there are three different lawsuits out there over this so we'll end up hearing about that eventually. But with nothing at all to drink, Chandler could have easily died between say, two-week visits.
I hope the guardians both have a recurring nightmare where they discover the closet door is open, then they see the kitchen knife drawer pulled out...
August 1, 2008
8:38 a.m.
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fefe writes:
oh my god can't even read anymore !!!!!
Because as a parent of three son's and five grandkids I see this helpless little angle and start getting sooo choked up cant even work. Dear god may the system give justice as if there were just a thing to do for these animals.
August 1, 2008
8:38 a.m.
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fiesty writes:
Yes, but the type of emaciation described here could NOT have happened in two weeks, and should have been noted.
August 1, 2008
8:42 a.m.
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momof5 writes:
This entire situation makes me sick to my stomach. My heart aches for this little boy. I read where the paternal grandmother said she tried to find him and didn't know the biological mother's last name. Surely your son knew the name of the woman he slept with, supposedly had a child with. I can't imagine the pain you are feeling at the death of your grandson, but I would have moved heaven and earth to find him. I wouldn't just let him drop off the face of the earth.
There is no punishment that I can think of that would suit these two people. And, yes, I think Social Services bears some of the responsibility for the death of this child. He deserved so much more from the adults in his life. I look at the picture of him above, with his arm around his little brother, smiling, and I wonder how anyone could do something so horrendous to such a beautiful little boy. I pray that he has found peace and love in the arms of his Heavenly Father.
As for the stepdad and stepmother, life in a small cell, bread and water and no privileges seems a just punishment. Too bad the ACLU won't ever let that happen. Some whining do-gooder will demand protection for these two scumbags when they are convicted. I'll be surprised if they end up in general population, the guy at least. Prison officials are supposed to protect vulnerable prisoners like this one from harm. Too bad. He deserves every beating, every assault he gets. Hell here on earth and then burning in hell.
August 1, 2008
8:53 a.m.
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tracer123 writes:
SOCIAL SERVICES LET THIS HAPPEN.
THEY SHOULD BE ON TRAIL'
THE CASE WORKERS SHOULD BE FIRED.
August 1, 2008
9 a.m.
Suggest removal
ShadyGrady writes:
As I said before, please flush this turd NOW. Hang, draw and quarter, electrocute, starve, shoot, piranha-filled swimming pool with no ladder, stoning, lethal injection, disembowel, whatever. Just keep this brainless, pasty idiot from showing up on my monitor permanently, PLEASE.
August 1, 2008
9:15 a.m.
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GILPINMAN writes:
just another example of the system failing to protect a child. It is easy to take a kid from a family for being late to school but they can't/wont when the child is in grave danger. sad sad sad.
tracer123 you are right on.
August 1, 2008
9:24 a.m.
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fiesty writes:
When I think about what this child went through, the conditions and pain of his last few days, I get physically ill... Being crammed in the space of an oven, covered and smelling your own feces and urine, feeling the pain from hits/blows, the pain of horrible hunger/thirst along with the torture of being able to hear or see others eating/drinking, the lack of love (which is a NEED for a child), the sheer loneliness... Argh!
Then they have the NERVE and STUPIDITY to try and say that the bruising and emaciation was from diabetes, that the feces were animal and not human, etc. Then they deliberately tried to cover it up with air deodorizers, which PROVES they had something to hide. Lastly, the sheer inhumanity to say "hey babe" when discussing a child so desperate for a drink of water that he is making threats...
August 1, 2008
9:24 a.m.
Suggest removal
Meredith writes:
Momof5:
You amaze me. You basically sit in judgement, yet you know nothing. I do not have to justify myself to you. You really have no idea what you would do in this situation. I spent 6 years with lawyers, police, and others telling me I had no recourse. Since Tina had said that my son was not the father and she did not put his name on the birth certificate, there was no help. Yes we let Chandler down. Hindsight is always 20/20. I have spent a year beating on myself wondering if I just missed the one step that would have found him. My son was in Korea at the time. It was difficult to reach him. It really did not occur to me that I did not have the correct name for Chandler's mother. I guess I could have looked for "Queenie" which is what her nickname was. Judging before walking in someone's shoes is sad. I hope you never have to.
Chandler's Grandma.
August 1, 2008
9:34 a.m.
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RealifeTauren writes:
We are all to blame.
What a great society we have.
Hatred, blame, disassociation.
Did you hear they released John Lynch?
I am sad now.
August 1, 2008
9:40 a.m.
Suggest removal
Chadley25 writes:
The odd thing is, Jon Phillips looks like a nice, clean-cut, regular guy -- just more proof that there are monsters living and walking among us. It's really beyond belief the things that human beings do to each other, but crimes like this against children are a unique outrage.
And to Meredith, you're quite correct about people judging things about which they know very little. That seems to be what a fair percentage of comments on any news sites are -- people throw a quick glance at a headline or read a couple of sentences, then land on their uninformed opinion, and fire off a half-wit, often incendiary comment.
August 1, 2008
9:45 a.m.
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LoneTreeLady75 writes:
Wow, such a sad story. A part of me wishes that Chandler would have succeeded with his threats. The life of an innocent child is much more valuable than the two lives of the scum that did this to him. I dont understand how someone can treat a child the way they did. He was such a cute boy! My heart aches for you Chandler. I know you are somewhere safe, with plenty of nourishment and the comfort you deserved.
August 1, 2008
9:48 a.m.
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kevbo1979 writes:
I live in these apartments and I know the exact size of the place he was put. You could literally only fit about 8 gallons of milk in the bottom of that area (4 x 2) with enough room to put one row of about 8-10 loaves of bread on top of the milk (in 1 row), if you could imagine. Also, the area is right by the bathroom, as stated in the article, you would literally have to walk past the boy in this area to go to the bathroom, to go in and out of the bedroom, and it is almost in plain view of the living room depending on the apartment. To imagine the poor little boy with no understanding of this world and what must have been going through his mind. He was treated worse than any animal and the point made in this article that he would kill for a drink, just proves the torture he went through. Any juror will see through this farce of a defense. I don't advocate a violent death for these people, but they will forever know what they did to this boy. Hopefully, that will be punishment enough (coupled with the justice given to them by their fellow inmates).
I'm so sad hearing about this...
August 1, 2008
9:48 a.m.
Suggest removal
Meredith writes:
Chadley25:
Thank you. For over a year now I have basically kept my mouth shut. My son has been bombarded with hateful things. If people only knew what kind of man he really is. We would have taken Chandler in a heartbeat. Tina would not let us. She knew where we were. When my son was discharged from the service Tina's family knew. I lost my grandson and then I almost lost my son. For a year now my family has struggled to make some kind of sense of things. I still have no answers and still don't know what I should have done differently. No one needs to beat on us believe me the guilt has just about wiped us out. My son is in the court every day listening to this and knowing if we had had just one break Chandler would have been with us. It is sad that Tina was so afraid that we would take him that she did not contact any of us.
August 1, 2008
10:03 a.m.
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fiesty writes:
If every a case deserved the death penalty, this one does. I sincerely hope that is the end result.
August 1, 2008
10:08 a.m.
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fiesty writes:
Meredith- I can only imagine what you and your son are going through. Having been in the service overseas, I know EXACTLY how difficult it is to go through civilian legal proceedings. Not to mention you have a woman who apparently made an effort to hide the child from the father, and the legal complication of him not being recognized as the father due to her not putting his name on the birth certificate. There was simply no legally recognized standing. Such a tragic situation.
August 1, 2008
10:14 a.m.
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heinis27 writes:
Agreed, they should be starved to death. Bestow upon them the same courtesy they gave Chandler.
August 1, 2008
3:54 p.m.
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4gColoNative writes:
re: "The odd thing is, Jon Phillips looks like a nice, clean-cut, regular guy"
Hmmmmm ... what perceptions or biases underly THIS observation?
It seems to me the really whacked stuff (just about all of the murder-suicides!) happens in the 'burbs, not in central Denver with its more diverse population.
Although with more and more faux-lofts being built downtown and occupied by nice, clean-cut, regular guys and gals...
August 2, 2008
12:47 p.m.
Suggest removal
StefEvil writes:
Hey Meredith,
Get over yourself. You were never Chandler's grandma. A biological tie from your son being the sperm donor does not constitue a bond. You saw him once when he came out and before you and your crazy daughter had to be removed from the hospital for trying to take him from the nursery. Quit trying to make these people feel sorry for you and your loser son. You never laid eyes on my nephew or knew the first thing about him and my sister was right to keep him from you. You will never know the pain that we have known. Keep your big mouth shut because nobody wants to hear from an ignorant and self-rightous old woman.
August 2, 2008
12:59 p.m.
Suggest removal
StefEvil writes:
Yeah, with the "clean-cut, regular guy" thing. I can tell you all from personal experience that Jon Phillips is the complete opposite of that. In the entire time that I was unlucky enough to be around him, he was nothing but arrogant and messed up in the head. He mistreated my sister and both of those boys for far too long before she got the courage to leave him. He deserves to rot from the inside out from a festering case of HIV (hopefully bestowed upon him by a fellow inmate). They are both being held in Denver County Jail for the duration of the trials. All I can say at this point is that when half of the jury is watching the proceedings with their hands held over their gaping mouths, you are F*&%ED! The death penalty will not happen, but we are aiming for life without parole. I hope they both enjoy the rest of thier wretched existence in misery. Expect to see more in the future too because both Denver and Jefferson counties are going to be held responsible for their inactions. hope everyone has a lovely weekend.
August 2, 2008
3:29 p.m.
Suggest removal
gabymarie77 writes:
"The state failed to protect this young man"
That is correct and unfortunately every adult in this boys life failed to protect this young man too. Too bad that it was up to the state to protect this young man to begin with!
August 2, 2008
3:39 p.m.
Suggest removal
chikovid writes:
This is an example of why couples should be married when they have babies. If they were married, the paternal grandmother might know her daughter-in-law's name. If they were married, the husband would have paternal rights to his child.
Oops, I forgot ... Tina was married when she had Chandler, just not to Chandler's father, right? She was living with one man, married to another, and pregnant by a third.
Who taught her values? Chandler's maternal grandmother that lost track of the boys for hours that day the cops found them wandering the streets and brought them home?
Every adult involved in this story should be being tried for crimes.
You all failed Chandler.
August 13, 2008
11:55 a.m.
Suggest removal
ashleyaddams writes:
What an outrage for either parent to say they didn't starve that child. My Daughter is 2 and weighs 31 POUNDS. My 11 year old is up and down all night getting drinks you don't put them in a closet for drinking and eating or for even fighting with a sib or FOR ANY REASON. My Daughter and Son fight all the time it's kid nature it's the nature of the beast you try to get them to stop if they can't they get seperated if that dosen't work the playstation goes if that dosen't work the TV goes and that is usually when I get their attention.Corpral punishment is NOT NECCESSARY a smack to keep them out of the street is fine but for behavior issues a stern fist has NEVER WORKED reasoning and communication is best, they are children NOT idiots.I feel for the teachers that tried to help it was sad his response too. That's a childs love they will still protect their parents even when they know they are being hurt. May you rest in peace little Chandler.