Giving affection to a married man, mother of 5 Phyllis Renee Malone had to receive a painful ending from the very person she always trusted.
Body in the car
Phyllis Renee Malone was born in 1976 in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, USA. She grew up in a large close-knit family. When Phyllis was just 5 years old, her mother unfortunately passed away.
At age 31, Phyllis had 5 children. She enjoyed playing music and cooking for them. Although not very lucky in matters of love, Phyllis still believed in love and always wanted to find the right man for herself.
On 9/9/2008, a truck driver arrived at a local gas station to make a delivery. However, a car was blocking the entrance. As the driver approached the car, he saw an unresponsive woman inside. He quickly called 911 after noticing blood in the car.
The victim was identified as Phyllis Malone. Her purse and ID were found on the back seat. The contents of her purse were intact but her cell phone was missing. Phyllis’ shoes were found on the floor and the passenger side window was rolled down. Her car was undamaged.
Phyllis had been shot multiple times in the abdomen and head. Police found no weapon or spent shell casings at the scene. They believe she was shot with a revolver.
The mysterious man
Due to a lack of evidence, police determined the shooter fired through the open window at Phyllis. They spoke to the manager of a nearby restaurant hoping for clues, but he said it was closed from around 11 pm to 6 am when the murder occurred. The gas station’s surveillance cameras also weren’t operational at the time.
Phyllis’ body was sent to the medical examiner’s office while her car was towed for processing as news of the apparently random killing spread through Memphis.
Police then asked Phyllis’ family if she had been dating anyone or if they knew of anyone who may have wanted to harm her. Her sister said Phyllis had recently fought with an ex-boyfriend who fathered one of her children.
Phyllis’ daughter Alexus also told police she saw her mom getting dressed up that night to go meet a man, though she didn’t know his identity – just that her mom seemed excited about the date.
Police spoke to the ex-boyfriend, who was devastated to hear about Phyllis’ murder. With a solid alibi placing him at work during the shooting, he was quickly ruled out as a suspect.
During the search of Phyllis’ car, police found an undated, unsigned letter she had written mentioning an unfamiliar name.
The Secret Relationship
During the search of victim Phyllis Renee Malone’s car, police found an undated, unsigned letter confirmed to be written by her. While it did not specify a date or have a signature, the letter mentioned an unfamiliar name: “Chancy”. Phyllis also wrote that she was pregnant and questioned whether this person would stay with her and the baby.
When police spoke again with Phyllis’ family, they said they had never heard of anyone named Chancy. Her sister eventually learned from others that Chancy’s last name was Jones. She also discovered Chancy was an officer with the Memphis Police Department in Tennessee.
Chancy had previously been the officer handling disputes between Phyllis and her ex-boyfriend. Phyllis had confided in a friend that she and Chancy exchanged numbers and began a secret romantic relationship.
Detectives immediately looked up Chancy Jones’ file in the police database and found the 37-year-old had no disciplinary issues but was married with a young child at the time he was dating Phyllis.
The Deadly Date
On 9/9/2008, the day Phyllis’ body was discovered, Chancy Jones was scheduled to work the 2 pm shift, around 8 hours after Phyllis was killed.
During a multi-hour interrogation, Chancy admitted knowing Phyllis through handling her dispute case. He confirmed giving her his number and that they began an intimate relationship despite him being married.
Chancy stated the last time he saw Phyllis was the night before her body was found. She had contacted him while he was working to arrange a meet-up. The two then met at the local gas station. Chancy claimed he could not recall what they discussed.
Confronted with the letter mentioning his name found in Phyllis’ purse, Chancy eventually admitted that during this meeting, Phyllis told him she was pregnant. Chancy said he told his mistress he needed time to think about this.
Contradictory Statements
Police officer Chancy Jones stated that before his mistress Phyllis Renee Malone was murdered, the two met up and Phyllis told him she was pregnant. Chancy said he told his mistress he needed time to think about this. According to Chancy, when he left immediately after, Phyllis was fine.
However, about 3 hours into the interrogation, Chancy changed his story. The man admitted to killing his mistress Phyllis Renee Malone, but claimed it was in self-defense.
In Chancy’s new statement, he said Phyllis was trying to extort money from him and threatened to tell his wife about their secret affair. Phyllis then got into her car and started it, and Chancy thought she was going to run him over.
Chancy claimed he fired 2-3 shots at his mistress out of fear. He also admitted to taking Phyllis’ cell phone and throwing the murder weapon into the Mississippi River.
Chancy Jones was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He was also immediately fired from the police force.
The autopsy revealed Phyllis was not actually pregnant. In June 2010, Chancy went to trial for first-degree murder.
The Painful Truth
At trial, the prosecution argued that Chancy previously worked security at the gas station, so he knew there were no cameras and the hours when surrounding businesses were closed.
When his mistress invited him to meet after his shift on 9/8/2008, an excited Phyllis had gotten her hair done and picked out a nice outfit. The woman had no idea what awaited her.
Prosecutors believed Phyllis told Chancy she was pregnant, leading to a heated argument between them.
Meanwhile, Chancy’s defense claimed Phyllis intentionally tried to run Chancy over with her car, and the fatal shooting was self-defense. They also alleged Phyllis was trying to extort money from him.
However, ballistics analysis and the crime scene did not support this self-defense claim. Phyllis’ wounds also indicated it was not self-defense. A blood spatter expert testified Chancy was standing right outside Phyllis’ open car window when he shot her. After firing 3 shots, he tried to cover it up.
It’s believed Phyllis genuinely thought she was pregnant and assumed Chancy would want to be with her. But he only cared about himself. He formulated the murderous plan as soon as she announced the pregnancy to avoid any scandal affecting him and his family.
After a week-long trial, the jury found Chancy guilty of second-degree murder. The former police officer was sentenced to 24 years in prison. In 2015, Chancy’s appeal was denied and his sentence was upheld.
