Caretaker pleads guilty to murder of Desert Hot Springs woman

A Hemet woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to murder and burglary charges. She had served as the caretaker of a Desert Hot Spring resident who was found dead in 2016.

Kelly Lee Phillips, 47, admitted responsibility for the death of 59-year-old Desert Hot Springs resident Chandra Saras, according to the Press Enterprise.

Prosecutors say that Phillips used Saras’ name to cash a couple of $200 checks at a Wells Fargo in August of 2016.  She was arrested on September 7, 2016.

Phillips had been facing special circumstance allegations of murder for financial gain and murder in the commission of a burglary, under which she would have faced life imprisonment without the possibility of parole had she been convicted on all counts.

The allegations, along with charges of dissuading a witness and forgery, were dismissed at sentencing as part of the plea deal.

Phillips now faces 31 years to life in prison.