The parents of a slain Las Vegas 3-year-old shared tears, laughter and many hugs Friday evening during a candlelight vigil at the Villa Del Sol apartment complex to remember a “happy” girl who made her mark on the world.
Around 75 attendees joined Jeremy Ross, 34, and Phalan Whitson, 29, at the vigil to honor Journei Ross, who was stabbed to death on March 26, allegedly by a woman trusted to care for her.
The stabbing occurred just steps from where the vigil took place, along Channel 10 Drive in central Las Vegas.
Marketta L. Phillips, 41, faces a felony charge of open murder in connection with the killing.
Before the vigil, which featured a balloon release, flowers, candles and plenty of somber faces, Jeremy Ross described his daughter as a happy child who cared about others and “would light up any room” with joy.
“She was everything I wanted in a child,” he said. “I love and miss my baby girl.”
Whitson said she will never forget her daughter’s smile or her ability to “take charge of a room” and said she plans to start a nonprofit organization to help people who struggle with mental health issues.
When the stabbing occurred, Journei was in the care of Phillips, who had been in an on-and-off romantic relationship with Ross, who shared custody of the girl with Whitson.
“She was so, so sweet and so loving,” Whitson said of her daughter. “She giggled and laughed a lot, and that was the best part of your day, just hearing her laugh.”
Phillips is scheduled for a preliminary hearing May 13 before Justice Court Judge Noreen DeMonte. Phillips was being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center.
Whitson said she’s appreciative of the support she’s received in recent days from her family, friends and other community members. Journei was her only child.
“Everybody has been telling me to just live moment-by-moment, not day-by-day,” Whitson said. “I still have moments, and I’m going to have moments for the rest of my life because she was my baby. That was an extension of me and my soul. It’s really hard to deal with not having her around.”
Ross said his daughter used to like to play with light switches, turning lights on and off in his apartment. There have been times since her death, he said, when lights have flickered in different places where he has been, and he believes those could be messages from Journei.
“I think maybe that’s my baby playing with the lights because she loved to do that,” Ross said. “I’m very lonely. My baby girl went with me everywhere.”
Journei was “on the spectrum” and nonverbal, according to her mother, but communicated through music and sign language. She especially liked the movie “Trolls,” French fries from McDonald’s, and playing around water, her parents said.
Whitson said she believes mental health issues played a role in her daughter’s killing. She said she’s confident “God is going to take care” of what happens to Phillips.
“I still look at Journei’s clothes and I cry,” Whitson said. “I want to remember her and not be sad every time I think about her. The way she was taken from this world, there needs to be more awareness of that. I want people to be able to see the signs of a person with declining mental health.”
At a table set up for the vigil were flower arrangements and phones of Journei, who was smiling in most of them, her two front teeth shown prominently.
Ross said Phillips had cared for Journei several times before March 26. He said he still doesn’t understand her alleged actions that night.
“I just want to tell people to make sure they know who’s around their child,” he said. “I want to just make sure this doesn’t happen to any child ever again.”
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.
A previous version of this story misstated the ages of Jeremy Ross and Phalan Whitson.