INDIANAPOLIS — A man who police previously seized a firearm from under Indiana's red flag law has been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his wife.
A probable cause affidavit alleges Jason D. Phipps, 40, had a history of domestic violence was drunk when he fired a shotgun at Jill Phipps, 37, with two young girls nearby.
A few weeks beforehand, police seized a handgun from Jason Phipps after a reported domestic dispute between him and Jill Phipps. He was taken to a hospital for a psychological evaluation at the time, according to the affidavit.
The shooting happened during a domestic dispute in July 2020.
Indianapolis police found Jill Phipps shot in the stomach when they responded about 4:32 a.m. to a home 1500 block of North Sheridan Avenue for a report of a shooting. She was transported to Eskenazi Hospital, where she later died, according to the affidavit.
During an interview with police, one of the girls said she found Jill Phipps on a couch bleeding with Jason Phipps "stumbling off" her before he picked up a shotgun and began walking away. The girls were later able to get the gun from him and gave aid to Jill Phipps while calling 911. Meanwhile, Jason Phipps left the home.
Investigators were told the couple would commonly argue at least once a week for hours at a time and that Jason Phipps had hit Jill Phipps before. They were also told he had threatened to shoot himself before.
The girls told police they had intervened during their arguments several times and Jason Phipps had threatened them. An investigation found he had attacked one of the girls before but that was not reported.
Jason Phipps told police he got a loaded shotgun during the argument and when she asked him why he brought the gun, he said he was "sick of (expletive) and he "was done explaining himself." He also said he told his wife to "Shut the (expletive) up and leave me alone," the affidavit alleges.
He later told police he never meant to fire the gun and he didn't know what happened but there may have been a struggle that caused it to discharge. He added that he didn't remember the shooting until police mentioned it to him but took responsibility.
Jason Phipps is scheduled to be sentenced June 16 at Marion superior court, online court records show.
