Murder of Wilma Plaster by Shirley Jo Phillips investigated on Snapped

Snapped is re-examining the murder of Wilma Plaster, who was shot dead and dismembered by Shirley Jo Phillips at Wilma’s home in Hollister, Missouri.

On October 6, 1989, the remains of 66-year-old Wilma were uncovered a few feet from a rural road in Greene County, MO. The victim had been beheaded, dismembered, and wrapped in plastic before being dumped. The cops also found a kitchen knife and garden shears lying alongside the remains. Wilma’s arms were never recovered.

The medical examiner concluded that Wilma had died from a single gunshot to the head and that the murder had taken place three days previously, on October 3.

Phillips became a suspect after two employees at a bar in Springfield, MO, told the police they had seen her with Wilma on the day she was killed.

Wilma’s neighbors told the investigators they had heard a shot coming from Wilma’s house at about 10:30 p.m. on October 3. Neighbors also reported seeing a vehicle resembling Phillips’s 1976 gray Cadillac pull into Wilma’s garage the day after the murder.

Forensic cops searched the Cadillac and found human blood in the car and the trunk. They also uncovered human blood in Wilma’s house and garage.

The evidence mounted up against Shirley Jo Phillips in Wilma Plaster murder case

The cops ran tests on the bullet found in Wilma’s head and concluded it had been fired from a gun that was used by Phillips’ son, Glenn Minster, for target shooting on October 4. There was some suspicion that Minster may have been involved in covering up the murder on his mother’s behalf, but he has never been charged.

Investigators searched Phillips’s mail and found a canceled check for $4,050, supposedly written by Wilma and made payable to Phillips. A handwriting expert concluded that Wilma’s signature was a forgery.

A couple of days later, Nora Martin contacted police after Phillips left a trash bag under her porch containing cleaning solvent, canceled checks from Wilma’s account, and the murder weapon.

Shirley Jo Phillips convicted of first-degree murder for killing Wilma Plaster

Phillips was arrested and charged with murder. The motive was ruled to be robbery.

When Phillips was placed in custody, her sister came forward to report their mother, 76-year-old Lela Adale Kyle, as missing. The police in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, subsequently found body parts that were later identified as belonging to Kyle.

Despite suspicions, Phillips was never charged with her mother’s murder. She was convicted of the first-degree murder of Wilma Plaster and was sentenced to death.

In October 1998, the Missouri Supreme Court reduced Phillips’s sentence to life without parole.

This episode of Snapped re-airs Tuesday at 6/5c on Oxygen.