Missing
Patricia Denise Knight
Knight, approximately 2006; Lloyd Phelps
Date and time person was reported missing : 01/13/2006
Missing location (approx) :
Perry, Florida
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
Black
DOB : 07/03/1964 (57)
Age at the time of disappearance: 41 years old
Height / Weight : 5'4, 125 - 196 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: African-American female. Black hair, brown eyes. Knight may use the alias dates of birth July 4, 1964; July 30, 1964; July 30, 1965 or July 3, 1969. She may use the alias last names Locket, Lockett and/or Phillips, or the alias name Tracy McEal, or she may spell her first name "Patrica." She has a scar and a tattoo of the word "Colson" on her left shoulder. Her nickname is Niece.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Knight was last seen at a relative's home in the 900 block of south Calhoun Street in Perry, Florida on January 13, 2006. She lived in the 1100 block of Shiloh Cemetery Road at the time of her disappearance. She has never been heard from again. In 2011, her case was upgraded from a simple missing person investigation to a homicide.
Lloyd Phelps, an acquaintance of Knight, was eventually charged with first-degree murder and evidence tampering in her case. A photograph of Phelps is posted with this case summary. He has a prior criminal record for felony battery and witness intimidation.
Although Phelps testified he loved Knight and hadn't harmed her, a female eyewitness testified that he'd attacked her in his bedroom. Another man was present and the female witness heard him and Phelps discuss how to dispose of Knight's body. She stated the men threatened to kill her if she told what she saw.
Authorities found also Knight's blood on a piece of plywood in Phelps's bedroom. Phelps's attorney argued that Knight was a troubled woman who used drugs and associated with dangerous people, and suggested someone else had killed her.
Phelps was convicted of Knight's murder in July 2013; the jury deliberation took less than an hour. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Knight's body has never been found.
Other information and links : ncy
Taylor County Sheriff's Office
850-584-2429
September 2021 updates and sources
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
Big Bend Crime Stoppers
Florida Department of Corrections
WCTV
The Perry News-Herald and Taco Times
October 12, 2004. July 25, 2013; picture added, Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : updated.
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
