Man accused of murdering his wife in Twentynine Palms sentenced to 3 years in prison
On Tuesday morning, Isaac Angel returned to court for a Pre-Preliminary Hearing before Judge Sarah Oliver. Angel is the suspect in the murder of Jessica Phillips, who was the mother of his children. On March 13, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies found Phillips’ body in the garage of the couple’s residence on Aladdin Drive in Twentynine Palms; their two children were found inside the house unsupervised. Deputies located Angel walking several blocks away, and he was taken into custody on suspicion of murder, to which he pleaded not guilty on March 18.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Douglas Poston represented the prosecution, and Public Defender Dan Messner represented Angel, who was in custody. According to Poston, the Coroner’s Autopsy Protocol report released over four months after the case filing listed Phillips’ death as “unknown.” The report said, “Based on the investigation and a comprehensive postmortem examination including autopsy examination, histologic examination, and toxicological analysis, this 34-year-old female died from an undetermined cause.”
In a statement provided to Z107.7, Poston said, “…Those findings were not expected and had an impact on the prosecution for the murder charge, and I still feel awful about that.”
In a plea agreement, Isaac Angel pleaded guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter, a lesser-included offense. Judge Oliver sentenced him to the middle term of three years in county prison, with credit for 344 days served.
Statement from District Attorney Douglas Poston:
The San Bernardino County Sheriff and its Homicide Detail did an excellent job investigating this case. Initially it appeared that Jessica Phillips was murdered, and the case was filed as such. Over four months after the case filing, the Coroner provided its Autopsy Protocol report. The cause of death was listed as, “Undetermined, unknown.” The manner of death was listed as, “undetermined.” The author of the Autopsy Protocol wrote, “Based on the investigation and a comprehensive postmortem examination including autopsy examination, histologic examination, and toxicological analysis, this 34-year old female died from an undetermined cause.” Those findings were not expected and had an impact on the prosecution for the murder charge, and I still feel awful about that.
A good number of Jessica’s relatives were present for the plea and sentencing, and multiple victim impact statements were read to the Judge, including from Jessica’s father, sister, and others. Prosecutions for homicide don’t bring back their daughter, their sister, their relative that they loved and no one is ever happy. After thorough conversations with Jessica’s family, they understood why, based on the Coroner’s findings and report, that the plea agreement was reached.
On September 1, 2026, in a plea agreement, Defendant Angel plead guilty to and was convicted of the crime of Involuntary Manslaughter and sentenced by Judge Sarah Oliver to the aggravated term of three years in county prison.
