Jury reaches verdict at Phillip Lee Wilson trial, four decades after Robin Brooks’ slaying

One day after declaring it was deadlocked, a Sacramento jury on Wednesday found Phillip Lee Wilson guilty in the 1980 rape and stabbing death of Robin Brooks in her Rosemont apartment.

Wilson sat quietly as the verdict was read, holding his clasped hands to his forehead in the silent, first-floor courtroom in Sacramento Superior Court.

The jury had been deliberating since last week, when Wilson’s public defender, Thomas Clinkenbeard, argued strenuously that Brooks had been killed by Brooks’ sister’s boyfriend, a man he described as someone with a volatile temper who had threatened both women.

But prosecutor Tim Carr drove home the DNA evidence that led to Wilson’s arrest two years ago after four decades: his blood and semen were at the crime scene, as were his fingerprints.

Neither lawyer would comment after the verdict was read, and the jury foreman declined to speak as he left the courtroom. The jury reported Tuesday that it was deadlocked, with six for “not guilty,” five for “guilty” and one undecided.

Brooks’ sister, Maria Arrick, the first witness in the trial, wept with joy at the jury’s decision and said she had never given up hope, even after her mother told her the case would never be solved.

“I just never gave up hope, I just knew it,” she said. “Last night, I was nervous when the jury came back deadlocked 6-6.

“So everyone prayed, and I think God allowed for the right decision.”

Judge James McFetridge set sentencing for Wilson, who turned 73 Wednesday in the Sacramento County Main Jail, for April 22.

This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 2:50 PM.