Katherine "Baby Kate" Phillips, 4 mo, missing 6/29/2011, Ludington, MI

[Sister]

OT and I'm sorry but I gotta say....

                                                   SISTER!  How nice to see you.  I've moved and getting home late and not on much but reading at work by Blackberry  only on a few sites.  Doing okay?  I'm sure you are tired of hearing that question but I just want you to know I've been praying for you and you are in my thoughts everyday.  We have a few missing Monkey's now.  I'm not very vocal about cases and definitely not too much smarts to add but I do care for everyone here and worry when I know there is illness, fam issues and just missing for no reason.  I know God doesn't care how we word our prayers but I think your words are so much more beautiful and expressive than mine!  Thank you for just being you!  In fact, thank you all!

Melisb, thank you for such kind words.  I am healing better now.
 

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2011/08/baby_kate_kidnapping_hearing_s.html
Baby Kate kidnapping hearing set for Sean Michael Phillips
August 19, 2011

LUDINGTON — The Scottville-area man charged with kidnapping “Baby Kate,” the Ludington infant missing since June 29, has been scheduled for a pretrial hearing in Mason County 51st Circuit Court.

Sean Michael Phillips, 21, was scheduled Friday for a final conference hearing at 4 p.m. Oct. 11 before Circuit Judge Richard I. Cooper, according to court records. A trial date has not been set.
 ::snipping2::
Phillips, 21, was arrested a few hours after the reported abduction at his parents' home, 280 Millerton in Victory Township, about five miles north of Scottville, without the baby in his care.

Phillips has refused to tell anyone what happened to the infant, but Courtland has said Phillips told her the baby was alive when she visited him in jail.

He is being held on $500,000 bail in the Mason County Jail.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.examiner.com/us-headlines-in-national/dna-testing-confirms-sean-phillips-is-father-of-baby-kate-videos
DNA testing confirms Sean Phillips is father of ‘Baby Kate’ (videos)
August 19, 2011

Ludington, Michigan- On August 18, 2011, HLN’s Nancy Grace revisited the case of missing five-month-old Kate Phillips “Baby Kate.”  Matt Zarrell, Grace’s producer, confirmed on air that Phillips; family revealed  the results of the DNA test, proving he is in fact Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips’ father.
 ::snipping2::
Videos and Slide Show at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?list=~\home\lists\search&id=655960#.TlrS7mG8sng   
Motion to drop charges in missing baby case
August 25, 2011



 ::snipping2::
It's been almost two months since baby Katherine Phillips went missing from her Ludington home, now lawyers for the man accused of kidnapping her claim they have grounds to have the charges against him dropped.
 ::snipping2::
Phillips has been charged with Kidnapping, a felony punishable by up to life in prison. This week his attorney filed a motion to dismiss all charges. Published reports say DNA test results reveal Phillips is the father of Baby Kate, and under state law biological parents cannot be charged or convicted of Kidnapping.

While the case plays out in court, the Ludington Police Department says their main priority is to bring the baby home.

The motion for dismissal is set for September 14th in Mason County Circuit Court. If approved, Phillips can still face other charges like Parental Kidnapping which carries a lesser punishable.

[ka8lhi]

 ::snipping2::
Sean Phillips is now charged with Parental Kidnapping and Unlawful Imprisonment.

The initial kidnapping charge was dropped last week, after a judge ruled that a natural parent cannot be convicted of kidnapping.

Previously in the case, Phillips said he was not Kate's father, but a DNA test later proved that he is.
 ::snipping2::

http://www.9and10news.com/Category/Story/?id=303427&cID=1

[theboyzmom]

Private investigator reportedly hired to assist Sean Michael Phillips, alleged abductor of Baby Kate

The station, WMOM 102.7 FM, posted on their website this morning that “a local private investigator is digging up information for the defense of Sean Michael Phillips” the father and alleged abductor of the infant, Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips.

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2011/11/private_investigator_reportedl.html

[MuffyBee]

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/nw_mich/trial-adjourned-in-baby-kate-case
Trial adjourned in Baby Kate case
Sean Phillips charged in child's disappearance
February 15, 2012

LUDINGTON, Mich. (WOOD) - The trial for Sean Michael Phillips in Ludington that was scheduled to begin later this month is being adjourned due a conflict with his attorney's schedule.

A new date hasn't been set.

Phillips is suspected of taking his daughter, Katherine Phillips, who was almost 5 months old when she disappeared in June 2011.

Her whereabouts are still not known. She was living with her mother, Ariel Courtland, at the time.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/03/baby_kate_kidnapping_trial_of_1.html
'Baby Kate' kidnapping trial of Sean Phillips in Ludington scheduled
By John S. Hausman | jhausman@mlive.com
March 1, 2012

The trial for Sean Michael Phillips, accused of kidnapping his still-missing infant daughter "Baby Kate" in Ludington, has been rescheduled for April 16.

The trial is scheduled to last 10 days, which would take it through April 27, according to Mason County's 51st Circuit Court.

The trial has been postponed twice.

Phillips, 21, of Victory Township is charged with one count of unlawful imprisonment, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and one count of parental kidnapping, punishable by up to a year and a day in jail.

Phillips has been lodged in the Mason County Jail since the day Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips, then nearly 5 months, went missing June 29. He is being held in lieu of a $250,000 cash or surety bond. The infant is Phillips' biological child.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/03/baby_kate_kidnapping_trial_of_1.html
'Baby Kate' kidnapping trial of Sean Phillips in Ludington scheduled
By John S. Hausman | jhausman@mlive.com
March 1, 2012


The trial for Sean Michael Phillips, accused of kidnapping his still-missing infant daughter "Baby Kate" in Ludington, has been rescheduled for April 16.

The trial is scheduled to last 10 days, which would take it through April 27, according to Mason County's 51st Circuit Court.
 ::snipping2::
Phillips, 21, of Victory Township is charged with one count of unlawful imprisonment, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and one count of parental kidnapping, punishable by up to a year and a day in jail.

Phillips has been lodged in the Mason County Jail since the day Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips, then nearly 5 months, went missing June 29. He is being held in lieu of a $250,000 cash or surety bond. The infant is Phillips' biological child.
 ::snipping2::
Baby Kate's clothing was found in Phillips' pants pocket when authorities questioned him at his parents' home, hours after the infant's mother, Ariel Courtland, 19, called 911 to report her child missing. The infant's car seat and diaper bag were found in Phillips' vehicle trunk.

Earlier, the couple had been arguing in Phillips' vehicle with the baby in the back seat on June 29 in the parking lot of Courtland's Ludington apartment complex, police have said.

When Courtland briefly exited the vehicle to get a stroller from her apartment and then returned to the parking lot, Phillips drove off with the infant, police have said.
 ::snipping2::
Authorities have repeatedly said Courtland is not a suspect and she continues to cooperate with investigators in an effort to locate her daughter.

[Sister]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/03/baby_kate_kidnapping_trial_of_1.html
'Baby Kate' kidnapping trial of Sean Phillips in Ludington scheduled
By John S. Hausman | jhausman@mlive.com
March 1, 2012


The trial for Sean Michael Phillips, accused of kidnapping his still-missing infant daughter "Baby Kate" in Ludington, has been rescheduled for April 16.

The trial is scheduled to last 10 days, which would take it through April 27, according to Mason County's 51st Circuit Court.
 ::snipping2::
Phillips, 21, of Victory Township is charged with one count of unlawful imprisonment, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and one count of parental kidnapping, punishable by up to a year and a day in jail.

Phillips has been lodged in the Mason County Jail since the day Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips, then nearly 5 months, went missing June 29. He is being held in lieu of a $250,000 cash or surety bond. The infant is Phillips' biological child.
 ::snipping2::
Baby Kate's clothing was found in Phillips' pants pocket when authorities questioned him at his parents' home, hours after the infant's mother, Ariel Courtland, 19, called 911 to report her child missing. The infant's car seat and diaper bag were found in Phillips' vehicle trunk.

Earlier, the couple had been arguing in Phillips' vehicle with the baby in the back seat on June 29 in the parking lot of Courtland's Ludington apartment complex, police have said.

When Courtland briefly exited the vehicle to get a stroller from her apartment and then returned to the parking lot, Phillips drove off with the infant, police have said.
 ::snipping2::
Authorities have repeatedly said Courtland is not a suspect and she continues to cooperate with investigators in an effort to locate her daughter.

I keep praying Baby Kate is safe.
Adults . . . aarrgh!

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/04/prosecutor_explains_decision_t.html
Prosecutor explains decision to drop lesser charge against Sean Michael Phillips in Baby Kate case
By Heather Lynn Peters | hpeters@mlive.com
April 5, 2012

LUDINGTON, MI – The Mason County prosecutor said he had good reason to drop to a less serious charge against Sean Michael Phillips, the Victory Township man accused of abducting his infant daughter nearly a year ago.

Prosecutor Paul Spaniola said the decision was a strategic move for the upcoming April 16 trial.

One previous count against Phillips, parental kidnapping, was dropped April 3, Spaniola said in a press release. But a 15-year felony charge against Phillips -- secret confinement, also known as unlawful imprisonment -- still stands, he said.

“The reason for the dismissal of the custodial interference count was to streamline the issues to be considered by the jury at the trial," Spaniola said in a statement.

Spaniola didn’t want to take the chance that the jury would convict Phillips of the one-year felony of custodial interference and not the more serious charge.
 ::snipping2::
Phillips has refused to say what has happened to the child. Numerous searches of the Mason County area haven’t turned up a body or any evidence that would indicate that she was given away, authorities said.

Phillips has been lodged in the Mason County Jail since the day she went missing. He is being held in lieu of a $250,000 bond. The infant is Phillips' biological child.

A previous kidnapping charge, a life felony, was dismissed earlier by a circuit court judge because Michigan law does not permit that charge against a parent.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://wkzo.com/news/articles/2012/apr/05/more-charges-dropped-in-missing-infant-case/
More Charges Dropped in Missing Infant Case
April 5, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Sean Phillips is being held on a quarter-million dollars bond, still charged with unlawful imprisonment, a 15-year felony. The prosecutor had already been forced to drop a kidnapping charge because DNA tests showed he was the child’s biological father.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

Recap of the case in article.
http://www.ludingtondailynews.com/news/64666-1-of-2-charges-against-baby-kates-father-dismissed
1 of 2 charges against Baby Kate’s father dismissed
Still no sign of Baby Kate
Kevin Braciszeski - Daily News Staff Writer
April 5, 2012

[ka8lhi]

The trial... on twitter...

https://twitter.com/#!/910BabyKate

[theboyzmom]

Dad has been found guilty of unlawful imprisonment!  ::justice2NJ::

This will not bring the baby back but perhaps the fact he is looking at 15 years in prison will help is memory of what he did with her!

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/04/baby_kate_verdict_sean_phillip.html

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/04/sean_phillips_will_appeal_his.html
Sean Phillips will appeal his conviction of imprisoning Baby Kate
By John S. Hausman | jhausman@mlive.com
April 27, 2012

LUDINGTON, MI – Sean Michael Phillips will appeal his conviction of unlawfully imprisoning Baby Kate.
“There will be an appeal,” said Phillips’ attorney, Annette Smedley of Muskegon, in an interview with MLive/Muskegon Chronicle after the verdict. “I believe that there’s a lot of appealable issues.”
 ::snipping2::
Smedley said appeal issues include the judge's instructions to the jury; his allowing Prosecutor Paul Spaniola to introduce a last-minute "surprise" witness; and a Sixth Amendment issue -- regarding attorney-client privilege -- over introduction of a jailhouse note found in a shirt pocket of Phillips' jail fatigues July 11.

Smedley said she had no quarrel with the jurors.

"We had a very attentive jury," she said. "I believe they made a rational decision based on what was given to them."

Asked what she thinks happened to the missing baby, Smedley said, “it’s not up to me to figure out what happened or what didn’t happen, just to make sure Mr. Phillips' rights were protected."
Video at Link

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/04/baby_kate_conviction_prosecuto.html
Baby Kate conviction: Case open until baby found, Prosecutor Paul Spaniola says
By John S. Hausman | jhausman@mlive.com
April 27, 2012

 ::snipping2::
Sean Michael Phillips’ conviction of unlawful imprisonment of Baby Kate brings no closure as long as the infant remains missing.

“This case remains an open investigation,” Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola said after a jury convicted Phillips, 22, of Victory Township. “Efforts are continuing to locate Katherine. …

“The case will not be over until we find Kate.”

Spaniola said investigators will develop new sites to search based on research by a team of Michigan State University soil and plant scientists who testified at Phillips’ trial.

The plant experts are in the process of germinating tiny seeds found on Phillips’ muddy shoes to see what plants grow. Investigators hope that could help them better determine search areas.
 ::snipping2::

[MuffyBee]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/04/baby_kate_guilty_verdict_for_s.html
Baby Kate guilty verdict for Sean Phillips doesn't answer question: Where is she?
April 27, 2012

 ::snipping2::
At the end of a 10-day trial, jurors at 12:12 p.m. Friday pronounced Phillips, 22, of Victory Township, guilty of unlawful imprisonment, a 15-year felony. A Mason County jury of eight men and four women deliberated for 5 ½ hours starting Thursday evening.

Mason County 51st Circuit Judge Richard I. Cooper scheduled sentencing for 3 p.m. June 5.

Phillips' minimum prison sentence could be anything up to 10 years, but state guidelines are likely to call for a lower minimum. The 15-year maximum is set by law. The state parole board will eventually decide how long he serves between the minimum and the maximum.
 ::snipping2::
Phillips will appeal, his Muskegon attorney, Annette Smedley, said.
 ::snipping2::
Spaniola said investigators will develop new sites to search based on research by a team of Michigan State University soil and plant scientists who testified at Phillips’ trial.
The plant experts are in the process of germinating tiny seeds found on Phillips’ muddy shoes to see what plants grow. Investigators hope that could help them better determine search areas.
 ::snipping2::
Asked at a press conference about the possibility of Courtland’s involvement in Baby Kate’s disappearance – the major theme of Phillips’ defense – Spaniola was firm.

“The timeline bore out that Ariel could not have been involved,” the prosecutor said. “The timeline was the key thing in this case.”

That was a reference to a detailed tracking of Courtland’s location throughout the afternoon of June 29 based on cell-phone records and security videotape. By contrast, Phillips could not be tracked during two hours in which he had his phone powered down.

Spaniola said police detectives thoroughly investigated Courtland, approaching it neutrally.

“She wants to know where Kate is,” Spaniola said. “She feels that Sean has all the answers. …

“She had no opportunity, motive or means to do anything with Kate.”

Asked whether Courtland might be charged with perjury based on her admission of testifying falsely at Phillips' preliminary examination last August, Spaniola said, "I'm not prepared to answer that."
 ::snipping2::
Smedley said appeal issues include the judge's instructions to the jury; his allowing Spaniola to introduce a last-minute "surprise" witness; and a Sixth Amendment issue -- regarding attorney-client privilege -- over introduction of a jailhouse note found in a shirt pocket of Phillips' jail fatigues July 11.

Smedley said she had no quarrel with the jurors.

"We had a very attentive jury," she said. "I believe they made a rational decision based on what was given to them."
Baby-Kate.jpgKatherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips

Asked what she thinks happened to the missing baby, Smedley said, “it’s not up to me to figure out what happened or what didn’t happen, just to make sure Mr. Phillips' rights were protected."
 ::snipping2::
Video at Link

[Northern Rose]

Report: Baby Kate's mom plans to marry missing infant's dad in prison
Published: Tuesday, September 11, 2012, 12:48 PM

IONIA, MI -- Ariel Courtland, the mother of long-missing "Baby Kate" Katherine Phillips, has taken out papers to marry Sean Phillips, the man convicted of unlawfully imprisoning the baby and suspected of killing her.

The Ionia County Clerk's office confirmed to MLive and the Muskegon Chronicle Tuesday that Courtland filed an affidavit Monday in that county to marry Phillips, who's lodged as a close-security prisoner at the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia.

 ::snipping2::

Courtland told WOOD-TV 8 that the marriage is to enable her to visit Phillips as part of her ongoing effort to find out what happened to their baby, who disappeared June 29, 2011, at the age of 4 1/2 months -- not an indication that she is love with Phillips.

According to Courtland's testimony at Phillips' trial in April, he was the last one seen with the infant outside her Ludington home.

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/09/report_baby_kates_mom_plans_to.html

[melisb]

To gain intel.....now I dunno if ima believin that!  Would HE marry her IF that was her only intent?  Doubt it.