A circuit court jury found Phillip Shane House guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday.
The jury deliberated for less than 15 minutes before delivering the verdict against House. Judge Jim Kitchens sentenced him to life for the murder charge.
House, 38, was accused of shooting his then-girlfriend Summer Danielle Tennyson, 39, in her bed while she slept June 23, 2023 at her home in Caledonia. The defendant and the victim’s two sons, ages 4 and 5, were asleep in the home when the shooting happened.
During the trial, the prosecution characterized House’s relationship with the victim as volatile, backing up the claim with text messages sent from his phone to hers on the day of the murder.
On the night of the shooting, House met Tennyson and her four children – two sons belonging to House and two daughters who did not belong to House – at the Caledonia YMCA, where the couple began arguing. Tennyson’s two daughters left the YMCA and stayed the night with friends.
Assistant District Attorney Ben Lang said the argument continued through the evening. Cell phone data showed House’s phone pinged just south of Tennyson’s house when he sent the final message, which read “Game over,” he said.
“He’s telling us he doesn’t have a plan? … He went back to his house to prepare,” Lang told the jury during closing arguments. “I would submit to you that you could make a reasonable inference that he went back to his house to get the gun. That shows planning.”
The prosecution argued House returned to his home in Columbus after shooting Tennyson once in the head, leaving the two boys in the house with their mother’s body. At 5 a.m. he texted Tennyson’s mother and asked her to “pick up the boys before they wake up.”
Sixteenth Circuit District Attorney Scott Colom said testimony from House’s brother was another powerful piece of evidence.
“The final piece that I think really probably resulted in a quick conviction was his brother gave very visceral testimony that … after the murder, (House) actually threatened him and said that he had killed her,” Colom told The Dispatch. “I think that was really enough for them to convict.”
During closing arguments, public defender Josh Clemons asked the jury to avoid relying on “speculation or conjecture” when making a decision.
“There’s no way to know what exactly happened,” he said. “What exactly happened that led to her getting shot? They want you to use conjecture and speculation. I say you can’t do that.”
Lang alternatively asked the jury to rely on “common sense and sound judgment” to find House guilty. Assistant District Attorney Trina Davis reminded jurors of the impact Tennyson’s murder had on her family, especially her four children.
“Those children have to wake up every day and live this nightmare over again,” she said.
Following the verdict, Tennyson’s sister, Shea Rosamond, spoke on behalf of the family.
“She is happy now and no longer being hurt, abused and mistreated,” Rosamond said before turning to address House directly. “… You should have just walked away. … I pray that you seek Jesus and that you ask for forgiveness, but just as you told my sister before you killed her, ‘game over.’”
Speaking with the family and investigators after the trial, Colom gave credit to the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office for conducting a strong investigation.
“I think it’s just a testament to the work that the sheriff’s office put in to investigate the case because you’re talking about Google data and cell phone data,” he told The Dispatch afterwards. “That takes quite a bit of work to get that type of information.”
House attempted to accept a plea deal for second-degree murder on Monday before the trial began, which would have carried a penalty of up to 40 years. As part of his would-be guilty plea, he would not admit to the crime, prompting Judge Jim Kitchens to reject it.
Colom was happy with the verdict, but concerned about the domestic nature of the murder – an issue he said he’s seen a lot of lately.
“This is another case where a man abused his position of trust with a woman just because he couldn’t control her,” he said. “It just really speaks to the idea that some of these ‘men’ have that they can control women. It’s heartbreaking and very frustrating to have these cases where (there’s) such a violation of trust.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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