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Sean Phillips Murder Trial of Baby Kate: Day 2: Ariel Rises and Kim Sets
Day two of the Sean Phillip' Murder Trial continued the testimony of Ariel Courtland throughout the morning before introducing four other witnesses in the afternoon. Phillips is alleged to have murdered Baby Kate, the five month old daughter of Ariel Courtland and him (allegedly at the time), however, Baby Kate has never been found since her disappearance 64 months ago.
Absent a body, Sean Phillips was tried for unlawful imprisonment, found guilty, and sentenced for ten to fifteen years back in 2012, a sentence he currently serves. Shortly after he wrote a prison letter to Ariel where he 'confessed' to certain things happening that day including an accidental killing of Baby Kate in the parking lot of Wendy's, the local prosecutor along with the Michigan Attorney General decided a more severe charge was due for Phillips.
In 2013 they announced an open murder trial would take place, which stalled in the 79th District Court in 2014 when Judge Peter Wadel decided there was not enough probable cause for murder to send it to circuit court. The judge of the original trial overruled that decision on appeal, and the higher courts over the last couple years have decided two things: that there would be a trial, and that Judge Wadel would sit for the jury trial.
The regular news for the second day of trial is found here at WOOD Friday's Testimony and COLDNews Friday. Here we offer not only the full video of Friday's proceedings below so you can see it for yourself, but we also offer what we refer to here as the supplemental report and notes, for those who have been following this case throughout the county the state, and the nation.
Supplemental Report and Notes
Court convened at 9:07 on Friday, September 30, 2016 with a conspicuous absence; the boyfriend/baby-daddy of the prosecutor's star witness, Ariel Courtland. Those who view the videos may notice that I sit on the side of the defense, while the other media assemble behind the prosecution.
This sometimes allows me to see things they don't, like the web-surfing habits of Defense Attorney John Smietanka, who was hired by the state to compensate for the prosecutions having an experienced AG prosecutor. When questionably-competent public defender David Glancy is cross examining the main witness, why is Barrister Smietanka surfing The Drudge Report and Real Clear Politics instead of listening intently like the rest of us and offering legal advice like he's being paid to do?
Glancy started the day with the cross examination. Ariel said she was never allowed into the Phillips' house (home to Sean) even before the incident where she allegedly stole money (referenced in the 2012 trial with the jury absent). She added Sean stayed with her most every night during June 2011, the night previous to the disappearance being an exception.
Glancy went back to August of 2010 to texts Ariel sent about getting money from Sean for an abortion for the unborn Kate. By her choice of words, she appeared to be the one trying the most for the procedure even though she claimed to be pro-life at this hearing. She got the money from Sean who was out of town during the time training for the National Guard, but she took the money he sent for that and spent it on baby clothes instead.
Glancy ran through many of Ariel's texts in May and June 2011, getting Ariel to admit they were about adoptions; many of these texts showed she seemed to be leading the conversation. When she interviewed at the LPD with Det. Kenney on the day Kate disappeared, she said it was only discussed a 'couple of times', but there were dozens of texts about each in the record. Including these that Ariel admitted were about adoptions:
June 1, 2016: "The lady wants to know if we could do it tonight?" and "When can we take her?"
June 3: "So the adoption lady called me..."
June 9: "Are we doing it tonight or tomorrow?" and "They wanna do it now."
And several more. It should be noted that the couple had not ever formally went through any adoption agency, so the legality of what they were considering has to be suspect. A recess was called shortly after Ariel said their relationship had changed once he got back from training (Editor: likely because of her use of the abortion money, she said it was due to his parents). Her new baby-daddy came in after the recess.
Glancy came back with more discrepancies of Ariel's testimony concerning: the fate of the birth announcement, whether she or he took Kate down to the car when they went to the DHS, whether she desired to stop at the hospital or not on the way back from DHS, whether she carried Kate in front of the car or behind it before he took off, and whether he had permission to take Kate with her or not.
Ariel thought that Kate was awake and should have been crying when Sean took off, but believed Sean was getting very attached to Kate, and made known that he wanted to adopt her out soon.
Then came Alaina Campbell to the witness stand, the friend who loaned her phone and rode Ariel around town looking for Sean. She recalled her original testimony with little help from the prosecutor, but she did testify she never really saw Sean around the complex when she previously stated he came over to her place to repair stuff while she was there.
LPD Officer Chad Skiba began testifying about his experience as being the first responding officer to the scene, eight minutes into his testimony LPD Chief Barnett came in the court to spectate. At the 2014 prelim, Skiba was not an LPD officer and it was rumored that there was some bad blood between him and the chief, by their body language at that hearing and before. It was not noticeable today.
Skiba, not mentioning the hiatus, said he had been on the LPD for 10 years, other than that his testimony was as it was four years ago. Under cross examination, it was noted that originally Ariel said she left her keys in the car, but that they were found on the stroller; perhaps an honest mistake by a distraught mother.
Anna Appledorn, an intake worker for the DHS office near the hospital, also reiterated her earlier testimony about Ariel's later arrival at 1:45 PM to ask whether her daughter had been left there. Appledorn, Skiba, Campbell, and Ariel all spoke on the same day back in 2012 also.
The day finished with testimony beginning at 2:11 from Kim Phillips. It began with some tense moments between AG Pendergast and Kim debating about the content and context of a text message Kim sent to Ariel which could be liberally interpreted to be tampering with a witness' testimony. Judge Wadel's basic indifference on the topic, showed that he felt it was not a breach, and Pendergast dropped it shortly thereafter, but she badgered Sean's mother for most of the duration on the consistency of her prior testimony with her more recent memories.
She related that Sean had been very surprised by the paternity papers. That LPD Officer Kuster's first visit included a consensual walk through, and that when Sean came home and had only been in the kitchen, living room and his bathroom until his second arrival. The rest of her testimony (pt. 4 of the videos) was where I had to leave.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by X_Ldy_Law_Dawg on
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I have said all along that Kate is alive. There are many of us from the Let the Truth be heard about Stroller Mom FB page that believe she is alive. Ariel (Stroller Mom) was blowing money just days after Kate's "disappearance". Had it been my child or grandchild missing I would have been part of the search from day one. Not going out for 20 minutes to be seen on camera and then going inside because it was too "hot". There were hundreds of volunteers who went searching in scorching conditions to look for a child they did not know, yet the child's own mother couldn't be bothered.
Instead, she goes on a shopping bender for clothes for herself, makeup, shoes, got her HAIR DYED..... really? Why? Oh for the cameras of course. She also took her 3 year old daughter, family members, and friends to Michigan's Adventure. A three year old can't fully comprehend what is going on. The excuse was to keep the child distracted from knowing about her missing sister.............. yeah right. Oh, Stroller mom paid for everyone to go, bought tshirts, toys, etc. Pretty penny spent right there.
She was on Dr Phil's show and he called her out. He also believes the child is alive and that things didn't make sense. Nancy Grace also called her out. The reason being is that child is alive and probably living in Germany.
Sean's parents flew to Germany a couple years ago to visit..............who? They don't know anyone in Germany but suddenly chose to visit there? People go to visit Paris,France London, England, or Venice, Italy. They generally do not go to Germany for a trip. Again, this is my speculation, but if you watch the Dr Phil clip, it is brought up about Kate being in......gasp......GERMANY!
I have been observing on here, just joined a few days ago. I wanted to get the vibe before I commented. I can tell that many agree with me. Something is going on and there is a cover up. Sean is taking the fall and keeping silent....why? Was Ariel worth it? Ariel visited Sean in jail, and in prison. She kept telling him she still loves him and wants to marry him..... put two and two together.
Okay, enough of my rant for now. lol Looking forward to today's update!
https://www.facebook.com/Let-the-Truth-Be-Heard-About-Stroller-Mom-...
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Permalink Reply by XLFD on
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What disappoints me about the defense here, is that they know effectively who and what the prosecution is trotting out and the forensic evidence that does not point to anyone being murdered in this instance except by unproved inference. Glancy should have adopted a strategy to effectively point out that a death hasn't been showed to have occurred here. This was his first theme of his opening statement, he should focus on it.
If his secondary tact to show that there was no intent if a death has occurred, he could leave that task to Attorney Smietanka in the closing argument, if it was needed. Right now, he's trying to tackle both lines, and in my opinion, it allows the jury to easier find that a death may have occurred, even though the evidence being presented points away from it.
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Permalink Reply by Willy on
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X_Ldy
It makes no sense for Sean to take a prison rap if the baby is still alive. The baby's parents could legally put the baby up for adoption, even in Germany. I know of no person who would voluntarily sit in jail for 15+ years if they committed no crime. This case just doesn't make any sense no matter how it's looks at.
Excellent coverage of the trial X.
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Underground adoptions that are pretty much selling a baby for monetary gain is illegal in all 50 states as well as in the EU (European Union). A legal adoption would require having an attorney present for both sides, going to court to dissolve parental rights, etc. You are talking around $30,000-50,000 unless the child was in the foster care system, which Kate was not. Sean knew that if they got caught doing an underground adoption for $$$$ Ariel would lose her other daughter, and they BOTH would end up in prison. I can see him being chivalrous and taking the fall so that Ariel was able to keep their other daughter. What you don't realize is that Ariel has a lengthy criminal record already, while most of it is sealed due to much of it happened when she was a minor. She doesn't live with her biological parents because of some criminal behavior, drugs, abuse, etc.
She certainly is not a mother of the year, that is for sure, but Sean loved his other daughter so much that he wasn't going to allow her mother be taken from her. My gut says this child is alive.
So please explain why Sean's parents went to Germany to "visit". As I stated before, Germany is not a first choice location to go to overseas on vacation. I have been there many times myself because my in-laws were stationed at Grafenwoer, Germany. While there are some neat castles to visit, for the most part it resembles a lot like northern Michigan. You want pine forests, you can see them in the northern parts of Michigan and the UP. I highly doubt they went there to simply drive on the Autobahn. lol
In my heart, this baby is still alive. Why in the heck would Ariel spend so much time visiting Sean in jail, and in prison? Sending him letters telling him "thank you" in cryptic messages? Telling him she loves him so much and can't wait for them to be a family again? Does that sound like a mother whose child was ripped from her arms and murdered??? Just my opinion......
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Unless the parents of Kate are as dumb as rocks why would they fake murdering the baby to cover up selling it? And why would Sean's parents sit back and allow their son to spend a good amount of his life in prison if they know that Kate is alive and well and where she is located? Don't you think a trip to Germany would raise a red flag if the police / AGO had any evidence that A German connection was involved with Kate's disappearance? I hope the baby is alive and if she is then this will go down as being one of the dumbest crimes ever committed.
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Where did they fake that they murdered her? They faked her disappearance lol. Ariel called quite some time later after Sean allegedly left with the child. Obviously Sean didn't want Ariel to go to prison so instead of them both going to jail for an illegal adoption, they staged that he took off with her.
As pointed about the timeline of her disappearance, many things do not make sense. Ludington is a tourist town, this occurred during peak tourist season. The fast food restaurants are typically very busy during tourist season. Nobody saw him with the baby, nobody saw the baby. He arrived at the fast food joint with no screaming baby in the car, plus the temps that day were pretty high. Who wouldn't notice a baby screaming in a car on a hot day??? We see news reports of people busting windows of cars because of children left alone in them on hot days.
The so called smoking gun of the rare weed is not true, it is not rare, and it is found all over Michigan. My brother in law has a Bachelors of Science, his majors were Botany and horticulture. He worked for the State as a Biologist for many years.
We we are not dealing with the smartest tools in the shed when it comes to Barney Fife town USA. LPD is known for cronyism and lazy policing. I was married to a Police Captain, as well as he was a Detective for many years. It is amazing what you learn just listening to him talk. I got interested in law enforcement and was a deputy for some time until I had a stroke at a young age. Even though I had a stroke, my mind is pretty sharp and I pick things up that these so called detectives should have seen right away. Their inaction in tracking down cyber information immediately cost them locating the child. They found evidence of adoption searches, adoption on the black market, adoptions for money, overseas adoptions, etc but did NO further tracking on it, such as speaking with people, contacts, etc. They wanted to pursue a murder case from the get go with no evidence, no body, and everything barely circumstantial at best.
The LPD also knew about the trip to Germany, were told about it by "insiders" and did NOTHING. They did not contact the German Polzei to track any leads. Such as where did the Phillips go, who did they meet with, etc.
The AGO is only looking for a notch in their belt in an election year. Something shiny to distract voters who know the truth. They want a conviction at any cost, even if it means locking someone up who did not commit a murder.
If the jury convicts Sean, which I highly doubt they will if they are smart and keep asking questions as they have, it can be easily appealed and overturned.
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If Kate is still alive but Sean is being prosecuted for murder because he wrote a letter confessing to have killed Kate then this entire incident would be because he "faked" the murder of baby Kate.
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It has not been proven that is "his" handwriting. Ariel could have faked it because he wouldn't agree to marry her. She kept pressing him to marry her while he is behind bars. He refused. There is plenty of proof of her sending him letters telling him she loves him, etc. Yet again, why would you want to marry someone who allegedly kidnapped your child????? Unless she is seriously mentally ill. If I truly believed he harmed my child I certainly would NOT be visiting him all the time in prison, putting money on his books, sending gifts, etc would you? This is what I am talking about........ the letter turned up AFTER he refused to marry her and told her to take a hike. It just does not add up...it does sound like the plan was he would only be in prison for a few years, out on good behavior, they get together and live happily after (that is what probably was going on in Ariel's fantasy). But Sean had enough of being locked up and fed up with her, finally saw the light. So she decides to reciprocate by making a fake letter. There has been no substantial proof he wrote it. Those two have been in each others lives for a long time. I know how to forge my husband's writing after being with him for a long time. It would be easy to mimic his writing, but unless you are a professional, there are obvious differences that a handwriting specialist can point out.
If the defense was smart, but I am seeing proof they are dropping the ball, they would hire experts to dispute the validity of many things. Such as the plant, the timeline, the lack of witnesses during a busy tourist season, Ariel's shopping sprees, behavior after daughter goes "missing", her frequent letter, visits, etc to Sean in jail, and prison. Her lie detector results of "inconclusive"........ and she won't submit to one offered to her by Steve Wilkos who uses a former agent from the FBI, who did them for the FBI for years. Wonder why that is? She was happy to be on Nancy Grace and Dr Phil, but refuses to go on Steve Wilkos or submit to a lie detector done by a Federal Agency.
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Great discussions. I've completely immersed myself into this case and still cannot dismiss several possible scenarios that go in totally different directions. It should be an impossible task for a fair jury in a fair court to find Sean Phillips guilty of murder in this case with what the prosecution has, or at least has presented.
That presumes the defense team for Sean Phillips works to promote the possibility of all those alternate scenarios that do not involve intentional murder. So far, there has been limited use of that by them, but they haven't trotted out their witnesses yet, nor need they show too much of this tact until their closing comments, so stay tuned.
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I agree. I enjoy a good debate that is thoughtful and maybe some different insights I hadn't considered. I just can't get past all the frequent visits, phone conversations, putting money on his books by Ariel if the baby was dead. If she honestly believed Kate was dead all along why would she do this??? Why would she go on a shopping spree just days after her daughters disappearance? Those of us who have been following this case for the last five years know that Ariel is involved heavily in this and we are trying to get the truth......
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Lots to do, I'm falling behind in getting some of the trial updates out. I hope to get a couple of articles finishing up the second week out soon to get less than a week behind.
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