Columbus man found dead in pickup in Midtown likely shot elsewhere, police say

Police say Columbus’ latest homicide victim was found in the heart of Midtown early Sunday, fatally shot in the passenger’s seat of a pickup truck off Wynnton Road.

Investigators believe the man was shot somewhere else, and left there.

Officers were called at 1:47 a.m. Sunday to Park Place Apartments at 1831 Wynnton Road to check on a shooting.

In the middle of the apartments’ parking lot they found the pickup truck, with 20-year-old Phillip Whitaker in the front passenger’s seat, dead from an apparent gunshot wound, police said.

Homicide investigators said they questioned several witnesses at the scene. “Based on those interviews, it is believed the shooting occurred at a different location,” they said.

Anyone with information on Whitaker’s shooting is asked to contact Sgt. Jeff Kraus at 706-225-4374 or dkraus@columbusga.org. Informants may remain anonymous, police said.

This story was originally published March 24, 2019 at 10:53 AM.