In the early morning hours of June 23, 2019, Philip Schwab is nervously clacking on his phone, the drying blood on his hands creating a distraction. His Facebook feed is filling up, each post more disturbing and confusing than the last, one after another after another “She deserved quicker…,” One post read. Another, aimed at his dead father claims “Yeah…dad you’re next”...Despite the bizarre posts, Philip’s Facebook feed doesn’t spark much alarm per se: Blurry pictures of sunsets through dirty car windows, half naked pictures of himself with headphones, weird angles of lamps, and the occasional book are all that can be noted. His bedroom is cramped, small, and musty. Laundry clutters and lurks at every corner of the room, the air is thick with the stench of sweat. Dirty bedrooms aren’t uncommon, except Phillip’s is also littered with blood splatter. Maybe he feels regret, but maybe he is trapped inside a world that many of us cannot recognize.

It's not much to look at, red bricks line the large, square building, generic landscaping flowing throughout the campus, but Red Rocks Community College is nestled in one of the largest cities in Colorado. West of Denver, Lakewood is where Kaylynn Blue spends countless hours a week poring over accounting and business books as she is studying for her associates degree. Though she struggles with a mild learning disability, Kaylynn is determined in her goals and wants very much to accomplish something that she knows will bring her career advancement and opportunities in both her current job and future efforts. She works diligently and her hard work gets her promoted several times from head cashier to head photo tech at the Parker, Colorado Walgreens.

But like many of us, Kaylynn longs for a romantic partner and in 2012, her wishes seem to come true when she meets Philip Schwab at school. Philip is also a student at Red Rocks and they begin a friendship over mutual interests: Academics, books, and a love of animals. Philip struggles with an IQ of 76 most likely an underlying factor brought on by DiGeorge Syndrome, a chromosomal defect that affects about 1 in 4000 people. It tends to manifest uniquely depending on the individual, can cause heart problems, facial features, developmental delays, and learning problems. Additionally, those affected with this syndrome can have a 30% higher chance of developing schizophrenia and psychiatric disorders, but again, this is a very complex syndrome and it can be different in each individual. Philip is pensive, intuitive, gentle, and makes Kaylynn laugh. They quickly go from friends to dating, and she cannot help herself as she becomes smitten with this stranger from school. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, love is blind.

While Kaylynn attends school, she was living with family to save money. As Kaylynn and Philip’s relationship progresses, the two fall in love, and things between them seem serious and they start planning their future together. Though a short time later, Philip’s father dies and Kaylynn suggests that he moves in with her and her family as it seemed that Philip has a really hard time coping with his father’s death. So, he moves in with her, but it is always a little more than awkward when a boyfriend moves in with the girlfriend’s parents. At first, things progressed as well as expected; surely they got in each other’s way and space was a luxury, but there were no significant problems to note of. After some time, Kaylynn finishes her associates in business from Red Rocks, and things are … good enough. Although, and certainly not surprising, tensions start to fray when conflicting opinions surface, especially where a relationship is concerned. What were once seen as a little quirks now becomes peculiar and out-of-character behavior. Multiple family members, including Kaylynn’s brother, Tristan, describe Philip as “odd, with little social interests.” Her family tells Kaylynn that they are not right for each other and that Philip is rude, even about and towards Kaylynn, often making fun of her anxiety. He makes inappropriate jokes at the wrong time, has very little social awareness, and they think she shouldn’t be with him. Even though her relationship with Philip begins to struggle, her relationship with her family is not faring much better as a result.

It is now 2017, tensions in the Blue home come to a boiling point, and Kaylynn’s parents kick Philip out of their own home. Kaylynn is obviously upset and when Philip decides to move to Idaho Falls to be near his mother, Kaylynn packs up shop and moves with him, leaving her family frustrated and powerless as they realize their young daughter can no longer be convinced to make the right decision. While Kaylynn is about 30, she still faces significant challenges in being alone and her parents are worried that their daughter will now be living with a man who gives them the creeps. Kaylynn is able to transfer her job to the Idaho Falls Walgreens, and because she is a revered and a stellar employee, the transition from Denver to Idaho Falls seems to be going better than her parents had hoped—but, of course they are still worried for her wellbeing as any good parent is for their children, regardless of how old their kids get. Philip did not transfer employment but soon gets a volunteer position at Idaho Falls Zoo.

Kaylynn and Philip move in to Philip’s mother’s house; it’s small and older, set in a retirement community, but with enough space for the couple and their two dogs. They live somewhat typical lives, go to dinner, travel, catch the Christmas symphony, and like most of us, chronicle their lives on social media. Facebook was a diary for Philip though many of his posts throughout the years were unintelligible or one-liners that didn’t seem connected to any real context or even related to anything going on in his life. His posts seemed more like inside jokes that he had with himself rather than anything meaningful or vulnerable. The only real morsels of truth that existed on his account were related to posts about his father or the dark novels that he seemed to cherish, Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, and references to H. P. Lovecraft. There are pictures of handwritten pieces of paper, ripped from a notebook, which seems like they came from a personal journal of sorts, but none of them really make any sense to anybody but himself—this is the thing about social media—nobody really cares about your posts quite as much as you do. There are photos with Kaylynn, but they are scattered, and from the outside looking in, the lens filters out any of the bad--the fights, the disappointments, and the general struggles couples can face, especially when both Philip and Kaylynn were struggling with their own personal internal realms.

Kaylynn’s Facebook account is a much different story. There are mostly pictures of her family, dinners around the table when she visits Denver, scenic photos taken on road trips, and pictures of the pets. But the majority of pictures that take up Kaylynn’s Facebook page are those of her garden and ones with her niece, Danika, her sister Brittany’s daughter. For Kaylynn, these two things brought her life and gave her a purpose. Kaylynn’s garden was a sanctuary and she would often post her treasures for her friends to see; ripe bell peppers, over-sized squash, and occasional herbs that she would then use to experiment with different recipes. Kaylynn had a deep love of nature and animals and her social diary chronicled a life that was pure and somewhat innocent, and she approached the things she cared for with gentleness and adoration. The interesting part of both of their social diaries is that both Kaylynn and Philip really don’t include much of each other through much of the first part of 2019.

This is especially surprising for Kaylynn who had been a frequent poster of her and Philip, or just Philip solo, but then it just kind of…drops off. There aren’t any clear signs, at least not outwardly of trouble in paradise, and her feed becomes generic and removed, posting Facebook quizzes and memes more than anything else. You remember the ones like “If you did 10/15 of these things you’re old now”, but even now, barely a year later, these posts seem like she is just filling time, but no real attempts at connecting with her Facebook friends other than through pictures. The pictures of the life she gave to her garden, and the love deep love she had for Danika.

Since the inception of social media, some of us have never quite gotten the hang of it, or exhibit proper etiquette, to say the least. We spill far too much about our lives for all to see—airing our dirty laundry, as they say. Philip was one of those people; whether he did it because he was bored, or to garner attention, or to piss other people off, he would often cite movie quotes, or post political rants more to get a rise out of his Facebook friends than to garner a real connection. But some of these posts were very personal, if only someone was looking for the right triggers. He often made references to God and to his dad, but more in an apologetic way or to make atonement for his sins rather than in a sense of joy or peace. But in mid-June 2019, things took a hard left turn for Philip and Kaylynn inevitably, so did Philip’s Facebook feed. Philip’s posts grow more cryptic than before, references about being unhappy with Kaylynn, hints at seeing other women on the internet, him ending his medications (what seemed like cold turkey), and pictures of sunsets with ominous taglines. So, again, not earthshattering, and though his posts may have been eccentric, they are not out of the ordinary … not quite, at least.

June 20th begins a very dark weekend for Philip and everybody else in his life. To this day, his madness into descent is still available to view on Facebook, though I would caution that his posts are not for the faint of heart. I’m not here to define whether Facebook is good or bad intrinsically; everything serves a purpose. But sometimes the problem is as much the original post, but further how that post is used as the catalyst for the dark and disturbing comments that follow. During the next 48 hours, Philip unweaves a minute-by-minute account of his 3 dimensional life through his 2 dimensional avatar. “Are you watching closely…” he types. “Good thing I have a get-out-of-jail free card” says another…A post about listening to Footloose…Memes…more non-sensical sentences. The early morning of June 23rd begins with a post that states, “Stay with me…”…and another, “I loved you, Kay..”

What the audience doesn’t understand just yet is that Kaylynn had gone to bed the night of June 22nd, and Philip followed shortly after. He lies awake but this night, in their overcrowded bedroom, Philip is lying next to Kaylynn and has had his final straw. Though he has created a web of his thoughts through social media, there’s not one clear, identifying factor that leads to the next series of events. Kaylynn begins to thrash in her sleep, certainly not by choice but unfortunately, some of her involuntary spasms land on Philip. Without a second thought, but seeming as if he had been waiting for the right “opportunity,” he walks over to the dresser where a knife awaits him, a knife he had strategically placed there a few nights back, and his first swing lands right on Kaylynn’s neck. She immediately wakes, sheer panic overwhelms her half-woken state, and starts to run away from him, and behind her, a trail of blood beings to form a thick red path. Philip will not be bested, and while she is at first resilient in getting away, this only angers him more. In the bathroom of his mother’s home, the home where Philip and Kaylynn shared their life together, he continues to stab her until she takes her last breath. Back to Facebook…”And she had to work at 8,” he writes. No timestamp, though claims are made later by police that this may have been around 12:30 a.m., and this specific message would have been in line with reports that she was murdered sometime late evening June 22nd to early morning June 23rd.

But Philip is far from done. “Interesting how antsy everyone got there…thanks for sticking it out with me…” He is postulating to his audience. Though it is unclear whether that audience is in his head or to whom he considers his Facebook fans. Political post, meme, meme, Led Zeppelin lyrics. His posts heavily reference a Don or Donnie though it is never explained if this is Donnie Darko, a movie he loves, his dad’s name, or something deeper, maybe a second personality as some Facebook commenters suggest. “You really did make it too easy,” reads another post. His next victims are of the four-legged kind and I will spare you the graphics, but both of the dogs Kaylynn and Philip shared together, dogs who Philip had claimed to love in his Facebook pictures, are murdered next and thrown into their outdoor garbage cans. “Don’t go now…I’m just getting started.” This post is soon followed by a post that highlights that Phillip is “celebrating this special day”, like a timeline event, as in the way you would post a new job promotion or getting married; except he is celebrating the murder of his long-time girlfriend and their two dogs.

“Getting windy again,” he writes next. At this point, Philip is most likely concerned with how to hide Kaylynn’s body, and in the garden where she poured her life, the garden that had been tilled with everything that Kaylynn was and represented, though emptier and drier now because summers in Idaho can be unforgiving, Philip takes the garden hose and begins to wet the land beneath him. Illuminated only by the half-moon above and the distant porch light, he creates a small crater and buries Kaylynn’s bloodied and lifeless body, but either as an act of symbolism or because he doesn’t know what he is doing, he buries everything but preserves her head just slightly visible above the surface of the garden.

Now that he feels sufficiently accomplished, he continues his Facebook barrage. Meme, meme, religious post, political post, inspirational post…more cryptic posts about the dogs…”This will be for her…” Followed by, “And I’m only using my hands…” “Do you know how strong eagles hands are??” “1 to go…” “See, Don?? 2 sides to every coin!!” Some of the comments alluded to the fact that Philip had named one of the dogs Don and one Melania (another reoccurring reference) but that could also be related to his many political posts as well—nothing adds up; and definitely not for his audience at the time. Over the course of 24 hours, Philip posted over 200 posts, though many have been blocked and say “no content is available.” There are some posts that are referenced by news reports that now cannot be found, but at this point, they’re not worth giving attention to anymore. Philip’s final post on June 24 simply read “Good morning.”

Throughout her working career, Kaylynn had been a loyal employee. Despite the learning struggles she faced, she was proud of the job she had and even had a couple of pictures of her with some of her co-workers on Facebook. She was a rain-or-shine kind of employee and she hated letting people down. Which is why, on June 24th, when she does not show up for work, Walgreens becomes concerned and phones her emergency contacts that she isn’t answering her phone and can they help find out why she’s missing from work? Her emergency contacts happened to be her parents, and when they cannot get ahold of her either, they are worried and call the Idaho Falls police department to do a wellness check at her and Phillip’s home.

Wellness checks never sound like something positive, and I imagine, it is a part of the job that can lead to some very sad discoveries. Philip answers the door to the officers who were called to his home, but he is less than surprised, and when officers ask about Kaylynn, Philip tells them that he “might have hurt her” and leads the officers directly to the backyard where she had been buried about 24 hours earlier. The house is still sprinkled in blood, though Philip had made a small valiant effort to clean some of it up, and as the officers make their way to the back, there is no doubt in their mind that what they are about to face is something they will wish they could unsee for the rest of their lives.

In the harsh glow of the afternoon sun, Kaylynn looks asleep, too early to have started decaying, but the stab wounds on her face and neck reads more like a cheap scene in a horror film than a real life tragedy. Yet, both Kaylynn and Philip’s lives are now caught in the juxtaposition between life and death; Kaylynn’s life taken from her without her consent, and Philip’s life about to end in its own right as well. Officers book Philip and throughout the rest of the day, he is being questioned by Idaho Falls detectives, but Philip is a chatterbox, maybe in an attempt to absolve himself of his sins, yet again. He does not deny that he killed Kaylynn, and he is charged with first-degree murder and is booked in jail.

The next day, Philip appears by video in front of Judge Steven Gardner, but he seems meek and confused, never quite finding the camera lens he is supposed to look into, and after some back and forth, Judge Gardner asks Philip why he had not yet filed for a public defender. Philip says that he plans to plead no contest, which is different from a guilty plea in that you do not admit guilt, but do admit that the facts presented in the indictment are correct, and that he will not be needing a public defender. But in Idaho, a felon defendant cannot plead guilty or not guilty on their first court appearance. Public Defender Jordan Crane is in court, and he asks the judge if he could help Philip fill out a form for a defender. Judge Gardner agrees and a hearing is set for July 9, and he does not set a bond for Philip.

In Idaho, though a first-degree murder charge can yield life in prison or the death penalty, Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Clark states that he will not pursue the death penalty even with all the “overwhelming evidence” against Philip. It was also stated that Kaylynn’s family also did not want Idaho to seek the death penalty but simply wanted justice for their daughter. Idaho has no insanity plea deal, and since 1982, Idaho law has stated that “mental condition shall not be a defense to any charge of criminal conduct.” And even if Idaho law was not written this way, the fact that Philip had purposefully hidden the knife prior to murdering Kaylynn, it is clear that at the time he committed the crime, Philip would have been mentally competent and capable to carry out such an act.

Philip’s mother is a big mystery in this whole case and it was determined at the time of Kaylynn’s murder, she had been gone from the home for several days thus she was not aware of Philip’s actions. After the June 25th hearing, the court ruled that they would allow Philip’s mother to communicate with Philip and act as a liaison between him and the court system since it was clear that Philip was on a sliding scale of mental capacity and no two days seemed to be the same for him. More than a year has passed since Philip’s murders, two vacated jury trials have come and gone, but Philip is still waiting conviction, with his 3rd jury trial scheduled for February 1, 2021.

On July 2nd 2020, Kaylynn’s brother, Tristan, writes the following words in a tender tribute to his sweet sister, posted on his Facebook timeline:

Today was my sister Kaylynn’s 34th birthday.

As I constantly think about what she meant to my life when she was alive and what she has meant since her passing, it always takes me on a journey of introspection and self-discovery.

A special skill she always had was the ability to see the best parts of the world around her. As I learn how to simplify my life and see the best parts of my world more, I am discovering more and more what a rare strength it is to possess that mentality towards life. It’s unfortunate that very few people ever accomplish the skill to see the best in people, but she was a natural. It’s a wonderful feeling to not doubt that she is proud of me. This isn’t simply due to anything special I may have done, but more because she always sees the best in me as she does with everyone.

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