A 38-year-old man from Maryland pleaded guilty to the murder of his former boss, who was shot multiple times during a break-in at his home.
Montgomery police accused Billy Philips, 38, of breaking into the home of Geoffrey Burr Biddle, 66, the CEO of Payment Solutions Incorporated, and shooting him multiple times. Responding officers found Biddle dead in the basement.
Philips pleaded guilty to charges of murder in the first degree, home invasion, use of a firearm to commit a felony act, and armed robbery.
Prosecutors announced on Friday that they would seek the maximum penalty, life in prison. They will also seek an additional 65 years during his sentencing scheduled for March 10.
According to an affidavit, Phillips killed his victim on June 23, 2021, and stole several items from his home, including money and a checkbook. Philips then wrote two checks to himself and predated them for June 18 and 20. He cashed the predated checks on June 23 and 25.
Prosecutors told the court that when police arrested Phillips, they found Biddle’s checkbook and bank card in his car.
Phillips was a former employee at Biddle’s company. He was fired in June 2020 because of poor performance.
Biddle was last seen alive on June 22, 2021, when he had dinner with one of his employees and then texted his new girlfriend. However, the next morning, employees received an email from Biddle telling them he would be out of touch for a while due to a family emergency. That was suspicious because Biddle took an off day on June 23 to spend with his girlfriend.
When the victim did not show up to work the following day, a friend checked on him in his house and found his car outside, his phone and wallet on the kitchen counter, but no sign of the man. The friend grew suspicious when he could not find money or cards in Biddle’s wallet and called the cops, who found the man dead in his basement.
Witnesses told police that Phillips was in financial despair after losing another job in April 2021 for fraud.