On Friday, a Maryland man, Billy Phillips, 38, admitted to the murder of his former boss, Geoffrey Burr Biddle, 66.
Officers of the Montgomery County police report that Phillips broke into Biddle’s home, where they encountered each other. Phillips shot him multiple times, resulting in his death in the basement.
The charges against Phillips include first-degree murder, home invasion, armed robbery, and use of a firearm in commission of felony, for which prosecutors plan to pursue the maximum sentence of life in prison plus an additional 65 years at Phillips’ sentencing on March 10.
Officers also discovered that Phillips had stolen money and other items from Biddle, including his checkbook. Phillips pre-dated two checks for June 18 and 20, which he cashed between June 23 and 25. When arrested, Phillips had Biddle’s bank card and checkbook in his car.
Prior to his death, Biddle was the CEO of Payment Solutions Incorporated in Gaithersburg, Maryland, a company which had fired Phillips in either May or June of 2020 due to his lack of performance. In addition, a close friend and former business partner of Biddle reported that he had fired Phillips in April 2021 for fraud and had discovered Phillips had stolen three checks from him, which he had deposited or cashed with Navy Federal Credit.
The last time anyone heard from Biddle was June 22, 2021, when he had dinner with an employee and texted a new girlfriend. The morning of June 23, Phillips sent an email to several employees, claiming to be Biddle and stating he was going to be out of touch due to a family emergency. However, Biddle’s daughter never mentioned this family emergency.
The following day, Biddle did not show up to work and his close friend visited his home, finding the front door unlocked and Biddle’s car in the driveway with a flat front tire. Inside, the friend could not find Biddle but did discover his cell phone and wallet on the kitchen island. Curiously, the wallet had neither any credit cards nor cash, though Biddle usually kept around $100. The friend did not check the basement, calling an employee to call the police instead. When officers arrived, they found Biddle on the basement floor with a large amount of blood on him and the surrounding area. Additionally, numerous .22 caliber shell casings were located on the scene.
The new girlfriend said that she believed Biddle’s final texts to her on the night of June 22, 2021 were from him, and the police believe he was likely dead at or before 9:30 a.m. on June 23.
Witnesses reported that Phillips had recently been in financial despair and that he had been fired from his job in April 2021 for fraud.