Archive - December 12, 2013

Thierry “Rambo” Ntoutoume Nzue was convicted for the 1998 murder of 37-year-old Karen Phillips. A Gabonese criminal court sentenced Ntoutoume Nzue to life in prison. Phillips served in Oyem, an agricultural city of about 40,000 in the coastal African nation of Gabon. She worked as an agro-forestry volunteer, helping local farmers market their agricultural products. “She just loved helping people,” said Richard Phillips, Karen’s father. “That’s the type of person she was. Karen was a doer and a giver.” Prior to joining the Peace Corps, Phillips worked in Atlanta as a fundraiser for the international development organization, CARE. A native of Delaware County, Pa., Karen received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Villanova University in 1982, and a master’s degree in business administration from Fordham University in 1989. “There is nothing harder for this agency than losing a volunteer, and after many years, I wholeheartedly hope the Phillips family can . . .