TACOMA, Wash. — The man convicted of killing Ginger Phillips, who went by Ginger Gover, in 2018 was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Michael Eugene Beauchamp was found guilty last month of first-degree murder and faces life in prison.
Beauchamp's sentencing hearing was Tuesday morning, where he also was handed down 116 months for unlawful possession of a firearm and 57 months for malicious mischief.
Ginger Phillips, 41, was reported missing by her father on July 31, 2018. Wayne Phillips told investigators he last heard from his daughter a few days before when she had a flat tire near Spanaway while on her way to a friend’s house.
Her father said she used to “run with a bad crowd” and thought she could have been a “target” because she had information on a crime that occurred in Thurston County.
According to court documents, Ginger Phillips knew Beauchamp and was an accomplice in an arson and burglary case in Thurston County. Beauchamp was later convicted in the case.
Ginger Phillips’ remains were found by a construction crew on Sept. 13, 2018, in a wooded lot near Puyallup. The medical examiner determined she was shot in the pelvis and died from the injury.
Investigators executed a search warrant at Beauchamp’s residence on Oct. 8, 2018, and found blood splatter throughout Beauchamp’s bedroom, detached garage and in a truck at his residence, according to the documents.
According to witness statements, Beauchamp had said Ginger Phillips “rolled on him” and he had to “make her disappear.”
Investigators believe she was killed shortly after the Thurston County burglary and arson.
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