| Crime |
On July 19, 2022, Pascha Baskette (31) woke up to find her aunt, Christine Estok, dead on the sofa at her boyfriend’s home. Her boyfriend, Ronnie Phillips (70), told Ms. Baskette that he killed her aunt because someone told him she was trying to set Ms. Baskette up with another man. Mr. Phillips then threatened Ms. Baskette’s life to convince her to lie about the homicide. |
| Evidence |
Investigators collected a revolver, gloves, and pillows as evidence. |
| DNA |
The Metro Nashville Police Department Crime Laboratory generated DNA data from the evidence. |
| Match |
Using manual interpretation methods, the laboratory was unable to interpret some of the evidence data (including the firearm data) as it was too complex or limited. |
| TrueAllele |
Using all of the data, the TrueAllele computer included the defendant Phillips as the major contributor to the revolver grip and trigger swabs with match statistics of 4.87 quintillion (1 followed by 18 zeros) and 368 trillion, respectively. |
| Cybergenetics |
On May 21, 2025, Cybergenetics analyst Jennifer Bracamontes testified before a Davidson County jury about the TrueAllele DNA results. |
| Outcome |
After less than an hour of deliberations that afternoon, the jury found Mr. Phillips guilty of all charges including premeditated 1st degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated assault. He received an automatic life sentence. |
