Former Caretaker Arrested on Suspicion of Murdering Former Patient

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CA - A Hemet resident who previously served as a caretaker for a woman found dead in a Desert Hot Springs home last month is due in court Friday on a murder charge, police reported.

Kelly Lee Phillips, 45, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murder, burglary and dissuading a witness and booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, where she was being held without bail.

Phillips is accused in the death of 59-year-old Desert Hot Springs resident Chandra Saras, who was found about 10 a.m. Aug. 15 at a home in the 64100 block of Mont Blanc Court, said Cpl. Christopher Saucier.

Officers received reports of a dead person at the location and when they arrived, "noted the death appeared suspicious," Saucier said.

The cause of Saras' death was not released.

Phillips, a former caretaker of the victim, was arrested Wednesday following search warrants served in Hemet by Desert Hot Springs detectives, Saucier said.

She is due to be arraigned in Indio Friday.

— By City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone.