Evidence found at last in mobile park killing

Thursday, Feb. 17, 2000 | 10:30 a.m.

They say David Phillips lived near the victim. And he had a gun similar to the murder weapon, blood on his shoes and had pawned stolen property.

Phillips, 32, was being held at the Washoe County jail on unrelated charges.

"What we have now is a circumstantial case with a whole bunch of things that point the finger toward him," Deputy Chief Jim Weston said. "He has given conflicting statements to investigators. He had been in the trailer after the victim was dead. We found bloody tennis shoes in his car. And he had pawned property that belonged to the victim."

Robert McCord, 46, died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head in his Cemetery Road mobile home. McCord's wife found him in the trailer and reported the body to a neighbor before leaving the scene. Police do not believe she was involved in the killing.

Philips lived in the same mobile home park and McCord had suspected him of previously burglarizing his trailer, Weston said.

On Tuesday, police arrested Philips on charges of possession of stolen property stemming from an unrelated vehicle burglary in which a small caliber handgun was reported stolen.

The caliber of the weapon used to shoot McCord matches that of the stolen handgun, police said. No weapon has been found.