Police said residents helped the injured woman and provided information during the investigation.
JEANERETTE, La. — Emergency calls from Katherine Street led Jeanerette police to a pregnant woman who officers said had been thrown from a moving vehicle, setting off an investigation that ended with two men in custody.
The arrests of Brett Michael Phillips, 34, and Chris Adam Phillips, 36, followed a neighborhood response on May 26 in the small Iberia Parish city. Police said the woman was injured, pregnant and in a dating relationship with one of the suspects. Both men were identified as New Iberia residents and were later transported to the Iberia Parish Jail.
The first public step in the case was not an arrest but a call for help. Police said people in the Katherine Street area contacted authorities at about 6:26 p.m. to report that a female victim had been thrown from a moving vehicle. Officers arrived and found residents helping the woman. The police statement said she gave investigators information about who was involved. That information, together with evidence gathered during the investigation and help from concerned citizens, led officers to identify and arrest the two suspects.
The department’s account places Katherine Street at the center of the known timeline, but it does not say whether the alleged kidnapping began there. Police have not released the starting point of the incident, the route of the vehicle or the place where the suspects were found. They also have not said whether the vehicle was recovered or whether investigators documented evidence from inside it. The public record begins with the woman already outside the vehicle and receiving help from nearby residents.
Brett Phillips was booked on charges of domestic abuse battery of a pregnant victim, second-degree kidnapping, attempted first-degree feticide, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and driving without a license. The reckless operation and licensing counts suggest investigators examined the role of the vehicle as part of the alleged crime. Police have not said whether Brett Phillips was driving. They also have not described the vehicle, the speed at which it was moving or how the woman was ejected.
Chris Phillips was booked on charges of principal to second-degree kidnapping, principal to attempted first-degree feticide, principal to domestic abuse battery of a pregnant victim, failure to seek assistance and simple assault. The principal charges mean police are alleging he was connected to the commission of the underlying offenses, not merely present after the fact. The department did not say what specific conduct supports those allegations. It also did not state whether Chris Phillips spoke with investigators or whether he was with Brett Phillips when arrested.
The woman’s pregnancy shaped both the medical response and the charge list. Police said officers learned during the initial investigation that she was pregnant, and she was transported to a local hospital for injuries and evaluation. Officials did not release her condition. They did not say how far along the pregnancy was, whether doctors found pregnancy-related injuries or whether the woman remained hospitalized. Because those details are private and often protected, the charges remain the main public indication that investigators treated the pregnancy as a key factor. The dating relationship is another key but limited detail. Police said the victim and one of the suspects were involved romantically, but did not identify which suspect. Louisiana’s domestic abuse battery law covers force or violence by certain household or family members, and reports in this case described the charge as involving a pregnant victim. Police did not release any record of prior domestic calls, prior arrests or warnings involving the people named in the case.
Jeanerette sits in Iberia Parish, near New Iberia and far from Louisiana’s larger city centers. The location matters because smaller police departments often rely on residents who see or hear an emergency before officers arrive. In this case, police credited citizens twice, first for helping the woman and then for helping officers track the suspects. The department did not give more detail about the assistance, but the public account makes the neighborhood response a major part of how the case unfolded.
After the arrests, the men were booked into the Juandre Gilliam Law Enforcement Center and later moved to the Iberia Parish Jail. Initial reports did not list bond amounts, arraignment dates or defense attorneys. The case may next move through prosecutor review, first court appearances and possible formal charging decisions. It also may produce more records that answer open questions about the alleged kidnapping, the vehicle, the woman’s injuries and the relationship among the people involved.
No trial date or hearing date had been publicly announced in the first reports. The most recent public account leaves the case in the custody and review stage, with two men arrested, a pregnant victim evaluated at a hospital and several major facts still unreleased.
Author note: Last updated June 23, 2026.