Family plants tree as memorial to Mississippi model and young mother allegedly killed by father of her child

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The mother of Brittany Phillips, the model and young mother killed in Starkville in November of 2020, says the pain of losing her daughter has only grown.

The Phillips’s family continues to call for justice in the death of their daughter after she was allegedly struck and killed by a car that was driven by the father of one of her children.

“There have been 82 hard days lately,” her father Brad said. “And they just keep piling on.”

It was 82 days ago that the 26-year-old Starkville mother of two was struck and killed by a car on Riviera Road on November 21, 2020. It was allegedly driven by James Heath Kitchens, the father of one of her children, who one of Brittany’s friends has described as “abusive.”

“It’s really hard to put in words how I feel,” Stacie said. “Some of me hurts every day when I wake up. Sometimes I think of some of her friends, and some of the stories that her friends have shared with me that make my day have a little bit of a smile.”

But on Friday morning, Brittany’s loved ones gathered together to plant a tree as a living memorial to her and the happiness they shared.

“Everybody that was here was here in honor and love for Brittany,” Brad said.

The tree was planted outside of Adaton Baptist Church, which Brittney attended as a child, and where she would eventually bring her own kids.

“The tree is on the playground, in honor of her, and the love for her children that she had so much of,” said Brittany’s stepmother Lane. “And that we have so much of.”

District Attorney Scott Colom’s office began planting trees in 2020 as memorials for victims of violent crimes to raise awareness of the problem and help the victim’s loved one’s begin the healing process.

“We don’t want to remember her as the person who died as a result of domestic violence, but we want to remember her for who she was,” said Assistant District Attorney Trina Davidson-Brooks. “And this tree symbolizes that today and hopefully the family will see that and they will begin to heal.”

Brad was the one who planted the Japanese maple while Stacie shoveled the first clump of soil onto it.

“When you see pictures of Brittany, you realize immediately how beautiful she was on the outside,” Brad said. “But I want people that didn’t know her to realize, like those of us that did know her, that she was even more beautiful on the inside.”

Stacie hopes the tree will help keep Brittany’s memory alive and says she looks forward to having a place where she can come and be with her daughter’s spirit.

“It doesn’t have a leaf on it yet but it feels like the most beautiful tree I’ve ever seen,” she said. “So I’m looking forward to watching it change through the seasons.”

Kitchens, a former Tupelo police officer, has since been arrested and is charged with manslaughter.