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On Friday, Feb. 24, Billy Phillips, 38, pleaded guilty to murder and other charges for his role in the violent death of his former manager, Bethesda resident Geoffrey Biddle, 66, nearly two years ago.
Specifically, Phillips pleaded guilty to:
- First-degree murder;
- home invasion;
- Armed robbery;
- Use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
According to court documents, on June 24, 2021, investigators received a report of a missing person at Payment Solutions Incorporated in Gaithersburg when Biddle, the CEO, purportedly sent a questionable email and failed to show up for work, which “was extremely unlike him.”
Due to their concerns, officials said that co-workers reached out to Biddle’s close friend and former business partner, who went to Biddle’s Bethesda home to check on his well being.
Upon arrival at the home, investigators say that Stephen Willard found Biddle’s car in the driveway with a flat front tire, and the front door was unlocked, which he said was suspicious. He found his cellphone in the kitchen next to his wallet, which was also missing credit cards.
There was also no cash in the wallet, and the former business partner said Biddle usually kept around $100 in cash.
Willard was unable to locate Biddle; however, responding officers in Montgomery County located his body in the basement of the home with “a large amount of blood on his body and throughout the basement, (and he) was obviously deceased."
Multiple .22-caliber shell casings were found at the scene, and Biddle’s death was ruled a homicide by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
A search of Biddle’s cellphone found a one-minute call to SunTrust Bank the day before his body was found, and an outgoing email to employees stating that he was having a family emergency and would be out of touch.
Investigators said that they also interviewed a woman who was scheduled to meet Biddle for a date the day before he was found, and her last contact with him was through a text message on June 22, 2021, which she believes came from the victim.
They say that Biddle is believed to have been killed before 9:30 a.m. on June 23, 2021.
Witnesses say that Phillips had been in “financial despair” and was fired from his job in April 2021 for fraud prior to the murder. When he was arrested, Biddle’s bank card and checkbook were found in Phillips’ car.
Phillips had been fired in April that year after stealing multiple checks from his victim that were cashed at Navy Federal Credit Union.
He faces the potential of life in prison, plus an additional 65 years when he is sentenced next month, and prosecutors said that they will be seeking the maximum penalty.
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