And the Verdict Is...

[XLFD]

Guilty or Not guilty?  The trial to decide this question about  Sean Phillips, father and alleged 'secret confiner' of Baby Katherine Phillips, will start its tenth day in the jury chambers early tomorrow morning.  The Ludington Torch has summarized the proceedings with analysis, and the Ludington Daily News, Mason County Press, WMOM, WOOD, Mlive, and many other local news outlets and Facebook pages have kept close tabs on this trial.  If you can do so before the verdict, explain how you would vote if you were cloistered in that room with 11 other men and ladies of the county.

 

Also follow up with any sort of rationale for your choice and state what you think will happen in the aftermath with the various characters in this small town docu-drama.  Such as:  Will Ariel be charged with something if Sean walks?  If Sean is found guilty, what then?  Will Baby Kate's whereabouts ever come to light?  What will be the lasting impression of the trial?

 

[Sweater Cows!]

Not guilty would be my vote. I am not convinced he ever had the child that day. She could have done something and then called it in and started the whole fiasco. that is all I got.

[Sweater Cows!]

I think the child was adopted out secretly as well. or the mother harmed her.

[XLFD]

Those would be my two top vote getters.

[april]

Guilty right along with Ariehel. speaking of this do you know how well Suttons Landing was searched?

[Lisa O'Brien]

Not guilty - The only person stating Sean had Kate, was her mother Ariel. The analysis of his shoes only showed he he soil on them that was found in Mason County, which since he lives there is no smoking gun. When he was told the police were looking for him the only thing he seemed concerned about was the illegal fireworks, not the clothes in his pocket or the diaper bag and car seat in the trunk. The timeline they were touting as evidence lacked the purchase of the fireworks. The only thing pointing to him was that Ariel said he took her. I find it absolutely incredible that they waited to this week to look at the couple on parent.com that was Ariel's computer.

The aftermath: Baby Kate will never be found. Sean will move away from Ludington. Ariel will stay. 

[XLFD]

The State's evidence is lengthy but inconclusive, and points more to the prosecution's key witness, who has not helped the case by making substantive lies throughout the case.  They will find him 'not guilty' based on the evidence and because of the underlying belief that someone will be held to blame for this disappearance.

That person will be Ariel, for perjury and hindering a police investigation.  The whole thing will be a modern day tragedy.  I can only speculate on what has happened to Baby Kate, but I hope nearly 20 years in the future a grown up Kate will be told the truth of her origin.

Verdict not yet in.

[Rebecca]

I'm going to say guilty. There was alot of different evidence. There's the note & the fact that he kept referring to Kate as "it" that bugs me. Like he saw her as an object not a actual person with feelings & that's sad. I would have loved to see him get on the stand & say what happened because I'm sure that he knows. Not sure why he didn't get on the stand. It's just so sad that Kate will probably never get found. I just pray that she did get adopted out & is with people that love her.

[XLFD]

I was surprised that the defense didn't use their private investigator, JD McGuire, as a witness, but I can think of many reasons why they didn't use Sean as a witness, most of them being tactical.  If the prosecution's case was stronger and they had shown the elements of 'secret confinement' better, then I think we may have seen more from the defense, including Sean.  But there was nothing to be gained from running him up there, in DA Smedley's view, and I agree-- but would have loved to see it. 

Yet, I would not hang him high for an unfortunate choice of pronouns in a stressful interview with law enforcement, as I know loving caregivers having used the word "it" when referring to a baby. 

[XLFD]

This just in:  Phillips is found guilty.  The jury has been polled and the verdict is declared valid.  Wow.

[Lisa O'Brien]

Wow Guilty - I wonder what evidence led them to that conclusion?

[AQUAMAN]

Too much bad publicity locally, he never had a chance imho. Should have opted for another venue for the trial, maybe, just maybe he could have been cleared, if indeed he was innocent. It's quite a perplexing enigma of a situation to say the least. My last guess is the hanging judge will give him serious time too.

[XLFD]

 I agree, Aquaman; the directions and decisions made by the judge in this case could have swayed the jury into putting more weight into the prosecutions assertions.  DA Smedley has announced that this decision will be appealed, and I wish her luck, because I believe that reasonable doubt and the elements of the law were not reviewed and applied correctly by our fellow peers in this case.  This shows how easily a presumably innocent person can be found guilty in this county, even with a jury.