At age 14, Josh Phillips faced first-degree murder charges, accused of beating and stabbing to death his 8-year-old neighbor, Maddie Clifton.

?I noticed the wet spot on the floor; that's what started me looking at the bed,? Josh's mother, Missy Phillips, said about the day she discovered Maddie?s body. "I didn't want to believe what I was seeing."

Missy walked out of her front door on Nov. 10, 1998, looking for a police officer. She said she remembers looking at the Cliftons' house and thinking that they still had hope but that in a minute they would know their daughter was dead.

At that moment, Missy said all she ever hoped and dreamed for her family ended. From that day on, the only contact with her son would be in jail.

Then-Sheriff Nat Glover explained how an officer found Maddie, saying when the officer entered Josh's room, he saw Maddie?s feet hanging out from under the boy's mattress.

Neighbors described Josh as quiet and friendly. Even Maddie's mother said the boy was Maddie?s friend and that she had no reason to be scared of him.

Police records showed that Josh had never been arrested. However, the details of what had been done to Maddie were disturbing.

Police said tape had been used to hold the boy?s bed frame together to keep Maddie?s body hidden. They said a baseball bat stashed behind Josh's dresser had been used as a weapon.

Autopsy results showed Maddie had been hit three times in the head. The girl's throat had been cut with a knife that investigators found in Josh's room. Maddie had also been stabbed seven times in the chest.

Evidence photos showed the boy?s tennis shoes had blood all over them.

Maddie's shorts and underwear had been removed. They were found near her body. While the autopsy showed no signs she'd been violated, the fact she was nude from the waist down would be considered key evidence for prosecutors as they built their case.

Pictures taken of Josh's room the morning Maddie was found showed air fresheners sitting on his nightstand, incense had recently been burned and a air freshener spray that police said the boy must have used to try to conceal the odor of Maddie's decomposing body were all found right next to a flier about her disappearance.

Police said the 14-year-old admitted to killing Maddie within hours of being arrested, but what Josh told investigators and what they believed led to Maddie's slaying were very different.

Josh's version of events, according to the police report, was that he and Maddie were playing baseball in his back yard when a ball hit her in the eye and she started to bleed and cry.

Investigators said Josh told them he brought her inside but she continued to scream. He told police he took his baseball bat and hit Maddie on the head hard once or twice to quiet her. He said he was afraid that his father, who was due home any minute, would be angry that he'd allowed the 8-year-old girl to come over.

He told police as his father returned from work, he could still hear Maddie moaning. He told the detectives he then pulled her out and stabbed her several times in the chest. He told them that her shorts and underpants came off when he dragged her body from the back yard into his room.

Police said as they removed Maddie's body her hand was found clutching the frame of her neighbor?s bed. They said she was still alive when he pushed her under.

During the six days the community searched for Maddie, Josh had said nothing. The 14-year-old was even among those looking for the missing girl.

?Josh said, ?What's going on? Well, I'll come out and look for her.? All the time he knew exactly where she was, acted as if nothing had ever happened,? said Maddie's mother.

?He said, ?My mom thought maybe you could use this picnic table.? So, I met him in the street and carried it over and said, ?Thanks Josh. I appreciate it.? It's just ironic that he went to bed that night with Maddie right under him and went to sleep just like any other night,? said Maddie's father.