Shirley man arraigned in killing of pregnant Brooklyn woman

A Shirley man was charged in an indictment Wednesday with strangling the pregnant mother of his 2-year-old son and then leaving the toddler on a stranger's doorstep in Queens.

Prosecutors said Kelvin Philp, 25, killed his girlfriend, Tatiana Walton, 27, in January and dumped her body on a street outside her Brooklyn home.

He was ordered held without bail Wednesday after his arraignment before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Matthew D'Emic, according to a statement from the office of Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.

"The alleged actions of this defendant — who's charged with killing the pregnant mother of his child and abandoning his son — were truly shocking and appalling," Gonzalez said in the statement, adding that his office will "never tolerate" intimate-partner violence and is "committed to prosecuting such cases vigorously."

Philp was also arraigned on a second indictment for aggravated criminal contempt and other charges, the statement said.

He was represented by a Legal Aid lawyer and is scheduled to return to court April 3.

Law enforcement officials said that at about 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 29, surveillance footage from near the corner of Lorraine Street and Otsego Street in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn showed Philp exiting a dark-colored car parked outside Walton's residence at the Red Hook West Houses.

Authorities said Philp walked to the passenger side of the car, dragged Walton's body out to the curb, then drove off. An eyewitness who called 911 is said to have seen Philp exit the Honda Accord parked in front of the victim's residence, then drive off, leaving the unconscious and unresponsive woman on the ground, authorities said.

Just over an hour later at 2:54 a.m., prosecutors said, surveillance footage from a Ring doorbell system recorded Philp abandoning the 2-year-old boy on the doorstep of a stranger's home on 84th Street near 35th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens.

An autopsy performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Walton died of "asphyxiation due to neck compression," a statement said.

Authorities said Walton and the child had an order of protection against Philp, issued in Brooklyn on Oct. 31.

Philp faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top count in the indictment.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”