Suspects Keith Phillips (left), Holly Ramos (center), and Frank Haverly (right). Photos courtesy of the LBPD.
UPDATE | A 43-year-old woman was sentenced Thursday to 31 years to life in state prison for planning to kill her mother in Long Beach, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Holly Ramos was convicted in December 2015 of seven felony counts, including two counts of forgery and one count each of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, first degree robbery, second-degree commercial burglary and grand theft of labor, a release from the district attorney’s office stated.
Authorities said Ramos and her husband Frank Haverly, 42, hired 52-year-old Keith Phillips to rob and kill Ramos’ mother after she discovered Ramos forging checks from her savings accounts. The mother also petitioned for custody of Ramos’ children after she was arrested on drug possession and child endangerment charges in Monterey County in 2013, according to prosecutors.
Phillips was sentenced in February to 10 years in state prison for his role. Haverly was sentenced in March to 31 years to life in state prison.
PREVIOUSLY: UPDATE: Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for His Role in Murder-for-Hire Plot
2/8/16 at 2:12PM | A 52-year-old man was sentenced Friday to 10 years in state prison for his role in a 2013 murder-for-hire plot in Long Beach, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Keith Phillips was previously convicted on December 4, 2015 of home invasion robbery, with jurors finding true the special allegation that he used a dangerous weapon—a bat—during the commission of the crime. Jurors also found that Phillips inflicted great bodily injury on the victim, according to the district attorney’s office.
Authorities said Holly Ramos, 43, and Frank Haverly, 42, hired Phillips to rob and kill Ramos’ mother after she discovered Ramos forging checks from her savings accounts. The mother also petitioned for custody of Ramos’ children after she was arrested on drug possession and child endangerment charges in Monterey County in 2013, according to prosecutors.
Ramos is scheduled to be sentenced on March 9. Haverly will be sentenced on March 11.
PREVIOUSLY: Three People Convicted in Long Beach Murder-for-Hire Plot
12/4/15 at 6:09PM | Three people were convicted this week of various charges related to a plan to break into a Long Beach home and kill the elderly mother of one of the defendants, officials with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.
On Friday, December 4, 52-year-old Keith Phillips was convicted of home invasion robbery, with jurors finding true the special allegation that he used a dangerous weapon—a bat—during the commission of the crime. Jurors also found that Phillips inflicted great bodily injury on the victim, according to the district attorney’s office.
On Thursday, December 3, a jury found Holly Ramos, 43, guilty of seven felony counts, including two counts of forgery and one count each of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, home invasion robbery, second-degree commercial burglary and grand theft of labor.
On Tuesday, December 1, Ramos’ husband and co-defendant, Frank Haverly, 42, was convicted by a jury of three felony counts, including conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and home invasion robbery, officials said.
Ramos defrauded her mother, the victim, of money between July and September 2013, prosecutors said.
“The mother discovered Ramos was forging checks from her savings account,” the prosecutors stated. “Additionally, the mother petitioned for custody of Ramos’ children subsequent to the arrest of Ramos on drug possession and child endangerment charges on September 15, 2013 in Monterey County.”
Upon learning this information, Haverly and Ramos hired Phillips to rob and kill Ramos’ mother, according to prosecutors.
On October 11, 2013, Phillips, wearing gloves and armed with a bat hidden in a briefcase, went to the victim’s home under the guise of being a social worker from the Monterey County Child Protective Services to do a home inspection, prosecutors said. He also gave his real name.
During the tour of her home, Phillips struck the victim on her head twice when her back was turned, exposing her skull and causing excessive bleeding, prosecutors said.
In the course of fleeing the home, Phillips stole the victim’s purse and the fraud report she made against her daughter, according to officials.
Authorities charged the defendants in connection with the crimes following a month-long investigation into the brutal attack on the victim.
Ramos is scheduled to be sentenced January 8 and faces a possible maximum sentence of 49 years and eight months to life in prison.
Haverly’s sentencing is scheduled for January 22. He faces 49 years to life in state prison. Phillips is expected to be sentenced on February 5 and faces 11 years in state prison.
All three defendants will be sentenced at the Long Beach Superior Courthouse. The case was investigated by the Long Beach Police Department.