Background: News footage of the Sissonville, W.Va., neighborhood where Joanna Lynn Phillips was found dead on Dec. 20 (WSAZ). Inset: Jason Joe Phillips (Kanawha County Sheriff”s Office).
A West Virginia man allegedly shot his wife to death and told police she had “pushed him to the limit.”
Jason Joe Phillips, 46, was charged with first-degree murder after he allegedly shot his wife, 46-year-old Joanna Lynn Phillips, to death in their home in the early morning hours on Saturday. According to a news release from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office, Jason Phillips called 911 himself to report that he shot his wife in their kitchen. Local NBC affiliate WSAZ obtained the 911 call, in which the dispatcher relayed the message that he “was just fighting with her” and “was just tired of it.”
A criminal complaint obtained by WSAZ stated that Jason Phillips allegedly shot Joanna Phillips once in the chest with a shotgun. Police responded to the couple’s home in Sissonville, West Virginia, after Jason Phillips called 911 just before 3 a.m. When deputies arrived at the home, Jason Phillips told them that his wife had “pushed him to the limit” before he allegedly gunned her down.
Jason Phillips was arrested without incident and booked into the South Central Regional Jail without bond. Joanna Phillips was declared dead at the scene.
WSAZ reported that Jason Phillips had two previous charges of domestic abuse-related incidents prior to Saturday’s alleged shooting. In December 2021, police responded to the couple’s home after Joanna Phillips told officers that Jason Phillips held a gun to her head and struck her in the mouth with it. He also threatened to kill her. Jason Phillips was charged with domestic assault, domestic battery, and brandishing, but those charges were dismissed with prejudice in March 2022.
In March 2025, Joanna Phillips called police on her husband again, telling officers that he had physically attacked her at their home after they got home from a night at the bar. He was charged with domestic battery, and he was scheduled for a bench trial in connection with those charges in January 2026.
Jason Phillips was charged with first-degree murder and remains in custody. He is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 29.
