Schuette, Spaniola Get Conviction of Sean Phillips in

'Baby Kate' Case

LANSING - Attorney General Bill Schuette and Mason County Prosecutor Paul
Spaniola today announced that a Mason County jury has convicted Sean Phillips,
25, of Scottville, father of Katherine Phillips, the Mason County infant missing
and known as "Baby Kate," of second-degree murder. A second-degree murder
conviction could carry a sentence of life or any term of years in prison.
This conviction follows a joint prosecution and multi-jurisdictional investigation by
local, state and federal authorities.
"Todays conviction is a measure of justice for a child who will never grow up and
a family that has been ripped apart by her murder," said Schuette.
Schuette and Spaniola filed one murder charge against Sean Phillips in
Ludington's 79th District Court on October 4, 2013. The charge alleged that Sean
Phillips murdered his daughter, Katherine 'Kate' Phillips on June 29, 2011. By
definition, an Open Murder charge allows jurors to determine the level of the
defendant's culpability.
"I'd like to thank Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola, Chief Mark Barnett,
Sheriff Kim Cole, the Michigan State Police and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for providing their assistance in this trial and prior investigation,"
said Schuette.
Since August 2012, Attorney General Schuette's Appellate Division has
represented Mason County in opposing Sean Phillips' appeal of his April 2012
conviction for the unlawful imprisonment of his daughter, Katherine
Phillips. Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola secured the conviction,
resulting in a 10-15 year prison sentence for Phillips. Phillips later appealed.
Mason County is one of the 56 Michigan counties the Department of Attorney
General represents by defending criminal convictions before the Michigan Court
of Appeals.
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