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West Michigan Dad Guilty In Daughter’s Disappearance
LUDINGTON (WWJ/AP) – A jury has convicted a West Michigan father of unlawful imprisonment in the disappearance of his baby daughter.

The Mason County Circuit Court jury in Ludington on Friday returned the verdict against Sean Phillips on the charge, also known as secret confinement. Deliberations began Thursday in the case following a nearly two-week trial.

Phillips faces up to 15 years in prison when sentenced.
[...]
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/04/27/west-michigan-dad-guilty-in-missing-daughters-disappearance/
 
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The mother of missing Baby Kate Phillips has filed paperwork to marry the man suspected of killing their infant daughter last year.

Sean Phillips has been imprisoned since he was convicted of unlawful imprisonment of the Ludington child earlier this year. The day Phillips was sentenced to at least 10 years in prison, police named him a suspect in what they now consider to be a homicide investigation.

Ariel Courtland filed paperwork Monday to marry Phillips while he is in an Ionia County prison, Ionia County clerk's records show. The marriage must be confirmed within 30 days for it to be legal.

Courtland says the marriage is not an indication that she is in love with Phillips, but part of her ongoing effort to get answers about what happened to her daughter who disappeared when she was 4 months old and still hasn't been found.

"I need to have answers," Courtland told 24 Hour News 8 Tuesday. "I've taken all the steps to try to avoid this."

Those steps included appealing the decision that she says barred her from visiting Phillips in prison because she is considered to be a victim in the case, Courtland said.

"I tried appealing it with a lawyer. I tried appealing it with the state in Lansing -- to the appellate people in Lansing," she said.

After trying "everything I can possibly think of," Courtland acted on the belief that she could visit Phillips if she was a part of his immediate family. She plans to make that happen by marrying him.

"It has nothing to do with Kate," Courtland said. "The prison told us that we were never allowed to see each other or talk... We weren't able to have any contact whatsoever... unless we were immediate family."

"I still have a billion...questions for him."

During the April trial, Phillips' defense attorney claimed Courtland is the person who knows were Baby Kate is -- not Sean Phillips. On the witness stand Courtland was pressed about her involvement in a plan to put Kate up for adoption.

While police have repeatedly said the evidence indicates that Courtland is not a suspect in the baby's disappearance or suspected murder, Courtland says she is aware that some of the public's perception of her is negative.

She now fears that news of her plans to marry Phillips will make that worse.


"Every single thing that I do is still being watched," she said. ""My life is gonna be flipped upside down once again for something that I was almost forced to do."

"I'm sick of being followed. I'm sick of being harassed."

Courtland said she went against the advice of others in making the decision to file for the marriage license. She says Phillips has asked several times to marry her in the past and says that she's discussed her plans with Phillips' parents who she says "understand" why she decided to go through with the marriage.

After checking with prosecutors and investigators, Courtland says she was assured the marriage would not harm the criminal investigation.

The marriage is simply a means to an end, Courtland insists, an opportunity for her to meet with Phillips and try to get the answers to questions so many still have about what happened to Baby Kate.

"A marriage license is a paper... It's not saying that I'm gonna spend the rest of my life with him," she said. "It's saying that I want to marry him for a... month or however long it takes for me to sit down with him and say, 'Hey, what the f--- happened?' That's all it's meant to be. That's it."
[...]

John Cordell of the Michigan Department of Corrections did add, "The Warden denied the mother of the child's visitation request (Ariel Courtland) on the grounds of order and security and an inability to positively influence the prisoner's rehabilitation. The warden maintains the authority to deny the visit even if the person is married to the prisoner."
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/nw_mich/baby-kates-mom-to-marry-suspected-dad
 
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A letter apparently written by Sean Phillips details what happened the day his daughter Baby Kate went missing, explains how he believes Baby she died and what he did with her body.
[...]

This is what you want, ok. I always felt that I needed to do this in person. That you deserved that, and that we would both need each other for that.

Also didn't feel safe writing these things anyways. Still dont, but this can't wait any longer.

I think I could even make it though talking about that day here now.
[...]
Read the full transcript here: http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/target_8/Sean-Phillips-letter-about-Baby-Kate
 
He's a real piece of work. The whole letter read as manipulation to me. She's obviously messed up too. I'm sure her statements aren't accurate either. What a lowdown shame that an innocent child was murdered because two people couldn't pull their heads out of their asses.
 
[video]http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c2#/video/bestoftv/2012/09/14/jvm-baby-kate-marriage.hln[/video]
 
[video=youtube;XZG8Vi_04Qc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZG8Vi_04Qc&feature=g-hist[/video]

She is almost more disgusting then him.
 
I was thrown into the worst possible thing at the worst possible time. Everything just happened, and I never had the chance to do the right thing.
Takes no responsibility. IF he's not lying out of his ass, and I'm not convinced he's not, only one thrown was baby Kate. fucker.

"I'm sick of being followed. I'm sick of being harassed."
I bet baby Kate was sick of the bullshit and now sick of being dead.

Don't believe someone has her safely somewhere, except maybe the angels.
 
Police: Plant experts can help find baby's remains
Authorities are hoping that plant experts will be able to help them find the remains of a West Michigan baby who disappeared nearly two years ago, police said Wednesday.

Investigators think that botanical evidence found on the shoes of Sean Phillips could lead them to the body of his daughter, Katherine, who was last seen when she was 41/2-months-old, Ludington Police Chief Mark Barnett said at a news conference.

Last year, Phillips was convicted of unlawful imprisonment in the case and sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison. Police are treating Katherine's disappearance as a homicide.

Police will resume the search for Katherine's remains June 28-29, because it's the same timeframe in which she disappeared in 2011 and similar plants will be present, Barnett said.

Authorities have been working with scientists from Michigan State University, University of Michigan and the Field Museum in Chicago to retrieve and identify grass-like plants called sedges, sphagnum moss, pine, sand from a dune and other elements, he said.

Detective J.B. Wells wrote in a letter to prospective applicants to assist in the search this June that the goal is to identify where Phillips walked, which could show them "where he put Baby Kate."

Police have declined to identify specific areas where they plan to search, but say locations with a high probability of containing all of the elements have been established.

Investigators say people with knowledge of plants should apply by May 1, and those who are accepted will be trained in advance. Wells called it an "incredible opportunity" for biologists to "use their skill and education to help solve a criminal case and bring justice to Baby Kate."
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130403/METRO/304030421
 
Authorities to resume search for West Michigan baby who's been missing for 2 years

Authorities are expected to resume the search for a West Michigan baby who's been missing for two years.

Katherine Phillips hasn't been seen since June 29, 2011. She was 4 ½ months old.

Katherine's father, Sean Phillips, was convicted last year of unlawful imprisonment in the case and sentenced to prison. Police are treating his daughter's disappearance as a homicide.
[...]
Police have said they plan to resume the search for the infant's remains on Friday and Saturday.

Investigators believe botanical evidence found on the shoes of Sean Phillips could lead them to the body.
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/...ars/-/1719418/20753686/-/ag1jnhz/-/index.html
 
It's more of a plant search than a body search.
Volunteers, with specialized knowledge of plants, gathered Friday morning in hopes of retracing the steps of Sean Phillips on the day his daughter, Katherine Phillips disappeared.
[...]

A letter, apparently written by Sean Phillips in prison, details what happened the day Baby Kate disappeared. Mason County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Spaniola told 7&4 News that the letter was given to investigative officers by a family member of Baby Kate.

In the letter, Phillips said he had put his daughter in a peaceful place.

At a press conference in April, Ludington Police Chief Mark Barnett announced details about evidence found on Sean Phillips' shoes, sparking the plan to search specific areas in the same time frame of when Baby Kate disappeared.

Soil scientists from Michigan State University found a seed of sedge, a form of grass, which was identified to be an extremely rare sedge only found in a few locations in the surrounding area.

Police believe if they locate the area where the rare sedge, and other rare types of plant material that were found on Phillip's shoes, are located, they could find the body of Baby Kate.

"A couple of trees, and there's a few species of moss, a few species of sedge which are just small grass as they grow in wetlands," said Jonathan Spoelhof, a volunteer and plant biology specialist from Michigan State University.

"The location that would support all of these elements is so rare and specific to the surrounding area, that it is only a matter of time before the exact location is found," Barnett said at the April press conference.

Authorities paired nearly 80 volunteers and botanists, with search and rescue volunteers to create 5 search teams. The teams tackled the different researched locations, searching for the 12 different types of rare plant life.

"We're going to all be in a line going throughout a grid of area that is set up on a GPS and as we see species that we think might be it, we call it out and then when we call them out we have a designated specialist in the team who will come and actually identify the plant," said Spoelhof.

Samples of the plants collected will be taken to a lab for further testing and identification.
http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=915240#.Uc9QYm2mXKc

Police assisted by dozens of volunteers have wrapped up a two-day collection of plants in northern Michigan, evidence that could help solve the mystery of a missing baby.

Chief Deputy Bob Brown of the Mason County sheriff's office says the search exceeded expectations Saturday. He says the area where Katherine Phillips' remains may be has been significantly reduced.
http://www.fox28.com/story/22722764/its-day-2-of-search-tied-to-missing-mich-baby
 
LUDINGTON, MI – “New evidence” in the case of the long-missing Katherine “Baby Kate” Phillips resulted in a charge of open murder against the baby’s father, Sean Michael Phillips.
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said his office will be trying the case in cooperation with Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola. Schuette made the announcement at a new conference Friday, Oct. 4.
“New evidence has been discovered which supports a murder charge in this case,” Schuette said. He declined to state the nature of the evidence.
The arrest warrant alleges Phillips murdered the baby June 29, 2011, the day she went missing at the age of 4 ½ months.
The baby’s body has not been found.
Asked
[...]
if the search for her body was over, Schuette said only, “We always will be ... open to new evidence. We are convinced that our charges of open murder are warranted and that indeed the jury will come back with a guilty verdict.”
Schuette said he has assigned Donna Pendergast, first assistant attorney general for the criminal division, to try the case in cooperation with Spaniola.
Spaniola said Pendergast has experience in trying “no body” murder cases.
Before the news conference, Mason County District Court Magistrate Patricia Baker confirmed that she had signed and issued an arrest warrant Friday charging Phillips with open murder. That charge allows a jury to decide whether to convict a defendant of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter, or to acquit.
[..]
Phillips, 23, is lodged at Carson City Correctional Facility. He is serving a prison term of 10 to 15 years for unlawful imprisonment. A Mason County jury convicted him of that in April 2012.
[...]
Courtland declined to comment. Her mother, April Lange, said before the news conference, "Hopefully he has been finally charged. It would be nice if they find my granddaughter."
Afterward, Lange’s mother, Linda Carlson, said, “It’s been a long time coming. I’m glad they’re going to charge him with murder, because that’s what he did. ... I’ll be glad to get it over with, to get some closure.”
[...]
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/10/baby_kate_murder_charge_agains.html
 
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Baby Kate's mother said she is surprised at the speed of a murder charge against Kate's father.
[...]

Kate's mother Ariel Courtland said news of the murder charge took her by surprise because she didn't learn of it through investigators, who she said have been supportive throughout the ordeal.

"For me to find out through the news that this was happening was kind of a slap in the face," she said.

For some, murder charges were welcome. But the announcement means something else to Courtland.

"I'm just disappointed that we have to do it so soon already," she said.

She must now explain the situation to her other daughter, who also belongs to Phillips.

"She has to come home and ask why," she said. "It's hard for her."

With one conviction in hand and a long prison term imposed, Courtland said she hoped this day would come further down the road.
Part of her struggle is realizing the other people this case has impacted as her once tumultuous relationship with Phillips' parents has turned into a bond.

"It's not just me. His parents grieve like we do. This is still their son," Courtland said. "They love Sean so much and it's hard to see their heart break just like mine."

And there's a lingering thought in Courtland's mind that perhaps Baby Kate is still out there somewhere.


"We don't know and we need to keep the hope that she's going to come home," she said.

Courtland would not speak publicly about whether she wanted murder charges to be filed.

That's despite having received a letter apparently from Phillips in which he confessed to accidentally killing Baby Kate and leaving her body in a still-unidentified area he called only a "peaceful place."

Courtland said she's not sure that Phillips was telling the truth in that letter, especially since a different note was presented in the unlawful imprisonment trial in which Phillips claimed to have given the baby "to a guy." That was proven to be false.
http://www.woodtv.com/news/michigan/baby-kates-mom-ariel-courtland-surprised-at-murder-charge
 
Sounds like mama's deep in denial, and doesn't want to face what a murder charge implies- that investigators have sufficient evidence that the only way Baby Kate is coming home is in a box, if even that. Most families of victims want charges filed, and the case to be decided as quickly as possible so that they can feel some sort of closure or justice.
 
Day 2 of the Baby Kate trial:
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Ariel Courtland (mother of baby Kate) testified on day 2 of the murder trial against Sean Phillips.
She talks about her history with Phillips, that she got pregnant with their first child when she was 15 & he was 18.

She testified that when she became pregnant with their 2nd child, baby Kate, that Phillips urged her to get an abortion, claiming a 2nd child would 'ruin their lives'. Once baby Kate was born, Phillips denied paternity to his friends & family.

Courtland testified that on the day that baby Kate went missing, they were on their way to have Phillips paternity tested. She says she left Kate with Phillips while she went inside to retrieve a stroller & when she returned, the pair were gone.
She says that once she was informed that Phillips had been found without baby Kate, she became physically ill.


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Assistant Attorney General Donna Pendergast states that the motive in this case is simple & cold hearted- Phillips didn't want the baby & decided the solution was to simply throw her away.

Although the body of baby Kate has never been located, the prosecution says they will present evidence that proves Phillips killed her & hid her body.
During her opening statement, Atty Pendergast told the jury, in part:

“A helpless baby who the evidence will prove was anything but ‘daddy’s little girl.’ In fact, she was his dirty little secret,”
“Who first hid his paternity of this child and later hid her small body, throwing her away, stripped of her clothes, stripped of her life, left to be stripped away to nothing by the elements,”​

Pendergast said Phillips had Baby Kate’s clothes in his pocket when he was found.

The trial is expected to last 15 days & call approx 60 witnesses.
 
Day 3 Highlights

Baby Kate's mother Ariel Courtland testified today that Phillip's also made death threats against their older daughter,, saying he 'might strangle her'.

The defense presented 1000s of text messages between Courtland & Phillips from 2010-2011 where they discuss first abortion, then adoption for Baby Kate.

Jurors also heard from the first police officer who responded to Courtland's 911 call, he reported the mother 'clutching the baby's pacifier, hysterical'

The jury got to hear from Phillips first-hand when his hour long police interrogation was played in the court.


(watch part of Phillips' police interrogation)

Prosecutors called Officer Tony Custer to the stand who testified that it took them approx 2 hrs to locate Sean Phillips at his parents house after he had driven away with baby Kate in the car.

When he questioned Phillips about the baby's whereabouts, Phillips first claimed the baby was 'with her mother', but later admitted 'he wasn't telling the whole truth'.

Noticing a bulge in Phillps' shorts pocket, Custer discovered the clothing that was reported to have been worn by Baby Kate that day. They also located her car seat & diaper bag in the trunk of his car.

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/mother-o...-regarding-their-first-oldest-child/328058437
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/crime/lu...aby-kates-clothes-in-fathers-pocket/328623259

Day 4 Highlights
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Phillips' neighbor Christopher Merriman is called to the stand, in efforts to establish a timeline for the day Baby Kate went missing.

The neighbor says he saw Phillips return to his house & then leave again on June 29, 2011. He also states he called police to report what he saw & also did a search of the wooded area near his property with his dog later that night.

Det Steve Hansen testified he collected the socks & shorts Phillips' had been wearing that day. He also testified he investigated the area behind the house, pointed out by the neighbor, and saw tire tracks leading to an area covered in ferns (I assume this will tie into the botanical evidence the prosecution will present)

ETA:
For anyone who is interested in watching this trial as it happens, there is a daily live stream available here: http://worldjusticenews.com/sean-phillips-trial-live-stream.htm

If you miss the live stream, each day of the trial available to watch on Youtube- (just search: "Sean Phillips trial")

[doublepost=1475685551,1475594721][/doublepost]

Day 5 Highlights

Significant development has court delayed so far today:


Michigans First Assistant Attorney General: William Rollstin appeared in court this morning to file an 'emergency motion to have the judge removed from the case' !!

This is a surprising move considering how far into the trial we already are, however this isn't the state's first attempt to remove this judge from this case.

Judge Peter Wadel had originally ruled there wasn't enough evidence to move forward with a murder trial for Phillips, but that decision was overturned by the appeals court.

The state attempted to have him removed from the case before the trial began, but the appeals court ruled that he could hear the case.

.The jury was dismissed this morning & told to return for the afternoon session at 1:30.

If this motion is granted it will mean a mistrial for Sean Phillips- I'll update as soon as more info becomes available!!
http://www.shorelinemedia.net/ludin...cle_97c2fe50-8afc-11e6-b3f5-ab9bd96893e2.html
 
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Please let there be justice for Baby Kate. He is so guilty of murdering her. Leaving his healthy baby girl in "a peaceful place" to die by the elements is premeditated first degree murder to me.
 
Update Trial Day 5 & OMG you won't believe this shite:

So the decision in the motion to remove Judge Waddell is: No the judge will not recuse himself.

Court was adjourned for the day after that & we never heard from any of the scheduled witnesses.

Now, here's the scoop on why the state requested the emergency motion to remove the judge in the middle of the trial, and it's a doozy!

Apparently a retired Judge Thomas visited our Judge Waddell during the week & they had a conversation where they discussed their shared belief that 'circumstantial (no body) murder cases are fundementally flawed'!

Ret Judge Thomas then went into the courtroom & told several people that Judge W was 'leaning towards an acquittal in the Phillips case'!

Now who the heck is this Ret Judge Thomas & why is he discussing this case? Well back in 2013 he presided over the trial of Mark Coulier- which, similar to Phillips case, was a cold case, no body murder trial. Halfway thru the trial Judge Thomas dismissed the charges against the accused murderer.

And what's more: the defense attorney in that case was John Smietanka- if that name looks familiar that's because he's the same Atty Smietanka who is currently representing, guess who?- Sean Phillips!!

So the argument made by the state to the court was that all of this hullabaloo calls the court’s objectivity into question & gives the public the appearance of impropriety within the judicial system.

Judge Waddell's answer to all this was basically to say 'Nu-uh!' followed by :nana:

So idk how we can hold out much hope for a fair trial in this case when the 1 person in the world who doesn't see Phillips as obviously GUILTY is also the 1 person to decide his ultimate fate!
Source
 
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I have been following this case since the beginning but there are a couple things I can't figure out. Didn't he confess to killing the baby in a letter to his girlfriend and also what is the defense in this case anyway? I think he killed the baby and buried her in the woods somewhere. She was so tiny it's not hard to believe that by now there is nothing left of her to find. And if the judge dismisses the case because of not having the body it would be like throwing the baby away all over again!
 
Day 6 Highlights

Today the prosecution called a corrections officer to the stand who found a note on Phillips when he was first arrested. The note said in part that Phillips "gave the baby to a guy along with a list of prospective adoptive families. The guy was going to drop the baby on the door step of one of those families."
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Part of the letter that was shown in court today

Also on the stand were several FBI investigators who did forensic studies of Phillips computers. Phillips accessed a website called "Parent Profiles" and had compiled lists of adoptive families, some as far away as New Mexico.

He had installed a program called 'HideMyIP' in an attempt to hide his online searches. Some of those searches included:

-Fake adoption papers
-Terminating parental rights
-International waters laws
-How to change your name

Next on the stand was an MSP crime lab scientist who collected a soiled diaper from Phillips' car on the day Baby Kate disappeared. She also testified (as the defense pointed out in their opening) that no blood evidence was found in Phillips car.

The day ended with a look at a map of the cell phone pings from Phillips' phone, showing the route he drove on the day of Baby Kate's disappearance.
Source1
Source2
 
If he gave the baby away why not tell, the punishment wouldn't be as much as murder would be. The only reason he's not talking is because that baby is dead.
 
Day 7 & 8 Highlights
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Rushaun Burton- former cell mate of Phillips


Day 7 of the trial began with a former friend/cell mate of Sean Phillips, a man named Rushaun Burton, taking the stand. Burton says he spent months in jail along with Phillips, often discussing their respective cases while researching strategies in the prison's law library. Burton says in July 2012 Phillips told him something that shocked him:

"What he said to me was that he had a baby that was not his," Burton said. "What he said was he picked the baby up and he got rid of the baby."..."He said they can't charge him because they will never find the baby."

Burton eventually wrote a letter to the Attorney General's office disclosing this information saying it was "weighing on his soul"
Court then adjourned to discuss how much of Burton's criminal history could be revealed to the jury

Day 8 began with Burton back on the stand to be cross examined by defense Atty. David Glancy who suggested that the convicted drug dealer is fabricating the story to gain favor with the parole board. Burton denies this & says he has never mentioned this alleged confession of Phillip's to anyone to gain favor.

Atty Glancy then nit-picked the wording of the letter Burton sent to the AG saying
“Finding a baby, a baby could still be alive if you refer to it as a body it’s definitely dead, correct?” questioned Glancy.

“Oh yeah if you look at it in that light,” said Burton.​
Source 1
Source 2

Day 10 Highlights
peter_wadel_a.jpg

JUDGE WADEL TOSSES OUT 1ST DEGREE MURDER CHARGE AGAINST PHILLIPS & THE MANDATORY LIFE SENTENCE IT CARRIED!
--Unbelievable but predictable considering how this judge has conducted himself thus far in this trial!:mad::arghh:

On Tuesday, the prosecution recalled a detective back to the stand to discuss the extensive searches done to try to locate Baby Kate. The prosecution then rested its case, at which time the defense requested a 'directed verdict of not guilty on all the charges' (which would give Judge Wadel, not the jury, the power to decide the case) saying
"this case may involve manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, or an accident, but not premeditation"

The prosecution argued there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find Phillips guilty or 1st degree murder, even without Baby Kate's body**.

The judges decision fell somewhere in the middle, citing a 'lack of evidence' on the prosecution's side, he dismissed the most serious charge in the case, tossing out the 1st degree murder charge & the mandatory life sentence carried with it. Left on the table for the jury to consider is the lesser charge of 2nd degree murder- which comes with the possibility of parole.

The judge told both sides to be ready for closing arguments on Wednesday.
Source

**The lack of a body in this case has been an 'issue' for Judge Wadel who already dismissed charges against Phillips once, before the trial began, but was over ruled by an appellate court. We then heard that he had made comments concerning his belief that no-body murder cases are 'fundamentally flawed', so this latest ruling is really not surprising-but still infuriating!

Closing arguments are underway, you can watch them live here:
http://woodtv.com/2016/10/12/closing-arguments-wednesday-in-baby-kate-murder-trial/

[doublepost=1476288867,1476283449][/doublepost]VERDICT WATCH: as of 12noon today, the jury, (consisting of 5 men & 7 women), is deliberating Sean Phillips' fate. *praying for justice for Baby Kate!
c4ef1395f4e3ba5aa4c085b460f6da86.jpg

[doublepost=1476474359][/doublepost]Day 3 of Jury Deliberations

I'm really surprised that there hasn't been a verdict yet!
Yesterday the jury assembled in the courtroom to ask the judge a question.
The judge did not read the question out loud & told the jury he could not answer their question. Later in the day it was reported that the jury was asking to see a certain piece of evidence. Again, the judge did not elaborate on what that evidence was.

The wait continues!......
[doublepost=1476549520][/doublepost]Verdict is in: jury finds Sean Phillips
GUILTY of 2nd degree murder!


After 22 hours of deliberations the jury came back with the verdict Friday night at 7pm.

It was the highest charge the jury could consider after the judge threw out the 1st degree murder charge earlier in the week, citing lack of evidence.

Sentencing will take place next month. The 2nd degree murder conviction carries a possible max sentence of life in jail.

After 5 years, finally some justice for baby Kate. Now if Phillips will just come clean about the location of her body. As atty gen Pendergast said to the jury at the end of her closing argument:
“How could there ever be enough justice for the unceremonious discarding of a baby thrown away like trash?”
Source

IMG_4728.jpg

Rest peacefully little angel.
[doublepost=1476555870][/doublepost]Here's a short clip of the verdict:
 
October 31, 2018

The Michigan Supreme Court will not upend the conviction and sentence of Sean Michael Phillips in the 2011 death of his four-month-old daughter, known as Baby Kate.

The one-page order issued Tuesday, Oct. 30, lets stand an April decision by the Court of Appeals that upheld Phillips’ conviction for second-degree murder.


Phillips appealed his jury conviction, saying evidence used against him, including a five-page letter he wrote while locked up, should not have been used against him at trial. He also said there was insufficient evidence to convict him.

The infant was last seen alive on June 29, 2011 with Phillips, her young father. The girls' body has never been found.

Without a body, prosecutors charged Phillips with unlawful imprisonment. He was convicted and sentenced in June, 2012 to between 10 and 15-years in prison.

Statements Phillips made while in prison, a five-page letter written to the infant's mother and other evidence prompted prosecutors in 2013 to file open murder charges against Phillips.

Numerous court challenges kept the case in limbo until it finally went to trial in fall of 2016.

Phillips was found guilty of second-degree murder in October of 2016.

He was sentenced 19 yo 45 years in prison.

He is not eligible for release until 2032.
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