Huge news coming out from the case involving NBC Dateline’s Stone Phillips’s aunt. County Attorney Joe Grubbs was contacted by The Ellis County Press (me) this morning asking if (a) Ellis County Sheriff investigators were pressured by prosecutors to file charges against Phillips’ aunt as simply “murder,” not “capital murder; and (b) were there any discussions about giving this still-unidentified killer a plea bargain. And (c) the reasoning the prosecutors gave for not pursuing capital murder was that the DA’s office didn’t want to hire outside counsel to help, according to the investigator sources. Grubbs didn’t exactly answer those allegation questions directly either.

Grubbs did point out that prosecutors can only prosecute and make a case based on the evidence available; he denied that there were any discussions about a plea bargain.

However, this morning after the phone call, Grubbs went to the courthouse and met with his chief felony prosecutor, Don Maxfield, for over an hour (estimated, according to ECSO sources we’ve got in on this case). Don’t know the nature of the conversation, but one of the investigators told another source of mine that it was the first and only time he had seen Grubbs anywhere close to this case.

Phillips had an aunt that was found brutally murdered near Waxahachie — the suspect was caught (eventually) and the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office filed the case as a “capital murder” case — which would result in either life in prison or the death penalty if convicted.

This is going to be the Gilbert Garcia*** case of 2008, folks, just watch and see. For now though, people better be banging on Grubbs’ door and calling for chief felony prosecutor Don Maxfield’s ass. Maxfield is the one “prosecuting” this case, and if found to be true, we’re in for a very exciting election year.

Might I add, Grubbs is up for re-election this year as well (vs. Rodney Pat Ramsey).

***Gilbert Garcia was an accused sexual predator that the prosecutors — mainly Patrick M. Wilson — fought to give probation to. However, when The Ellis County Observer found out about this during the 2006 primary election between Judge Gene Knize and Midlothian attorney Dan Altman, we broke the story — and the prosecutors were forced to have the case continued and continued until three days after the election; then, when the ECO reporting got real hot, it was eventually put off, and Knize sent Garcia to prison for seven years.