Alleged Sean Phillips' Prison Letter Says Baby Kate Accidentally Died

[XLFD]

LUDINGTON, Mich. (WOOD) - A letter apparently written by the father of presumed dead Baby Kate tells how the little girl died. Katherine Phillips -- known as Baby Kate to many -- was 4 months old when she went missing on July 29, 2011.  Her father Sean Phillips was convicted of unlawful imprisonment in connection to her disappearance in April 2012. In June, he was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison. The same day Phillips was sentenced, police announced they would  begin to treat the case as a homicide investigation. On Sept. 11, Target 8 obtained a letter from a source that was apparently written by Phillips. It explains how he believes Baby Kate died, what he did with her body -- and gives a possible explanation to why he and Baby Kate's mother Ariel Courtland are getting married. Courtland filed for a marriage license on Sept. 10. In the letter, for the first time, is an admission from Phillips that Baby Kate is dead.

==  Read: The full letter from Sean Phillips to Ariel Courtland (pdf) ==

On jail-issued lined paper and in an envelope postmarked July 16 is a letter believed to be scrawled by the man at the middle of the search for Baby Kate. The letter is unsigned, but does have Sean Phillips' name and prison ID number on the front of the envelope. The print is small and fills the paper from edge to edge. It has no greeting to apparent intended recipient Ariel Courtland. "If this is what you want, OK," starts the letter. Then it gives a five-page explanation of what happened the day Baby Kate went missing. The letter says it was a series of mistakes. First, Phillips drove off with the baby. But he says he had no idea Courtland had left Kate in her car seat in his car. "Heard the door shut, saw you walk off. Your hands in front of you, not at your sides. Like you were holding Kate. I drove away," the letter reads. Then a cell phone started to ring over and over again as he drove, the note says. But Phillips couldn't silence the phone because he couldn't reach it. He was frustrated, the letter says, because he thought Courtland was trying to control him by leaving the car seat in the car so he would have to bring it back to her. The letter says he had no idea Baby Kate was still in that seat and that he planned to ditch the car seat in frustration. "(I) was just going to throw it out onto that area between Burger King. I pulled but it was jammed between the seats. That just made it worse," the letter reads.  "I grabbed it at the top and ripped it out as hard as I could. She was thrown from it. I didn't know. I'm so sorry. Held her for a long time. Seemed like forever. Maybe an hour, maybe a minute." "I've never cried that hard. Seemed like my throat was closing ... I was in shock." The letter goes on to detail what Phillips did once he realized what had happened. "I never even tried to help her. Never even thought to. Just sat there. Holding her. I don't think anything could have been done. Still I used to hate myself for not trying." Then he drove and drove, the letter says, not even knowing where he was headed. Then he stopped and got out of the car. "For the first time I could think some. Thought about Kate. Her smile. The way she looks around. Everything. I cried until I somehow couldn't anymore. She was set in a peaceful place. I was walking and lost. ...  For the first time I realized I had left her. I wanted to die." But, he said, leaving the baby was never deliberate. "It wasn't dumping a body," the letter reads. "Wasn't like that at all. I want her buried too. I don't know where she was left. No, it's not some f------ swamp or lake." That seems to be an allusion to to evidence presented at his April trial regarding  the plant life on Phillips' shoes. After Phillips got home, he learned the police were involved. That same day, he was in police custody. "Everything just happened, and I never had a chance to do the right thing," the letter reads. A mention of marriage comes toward the end of the letter. "Things spouses tell each other in confidence can't be made to testify. But we aren't married yet in the eye of the government," it reads. The letter ends abruptly: "Out of time for mail. Destroy this. We'll talk." Police say they know about the letter, but won't comment further.

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/target_8/Dads-letter-Baby-Kate-is-dead

[Willy]

CLFD

I guess you don't realize what a terrific service X performs for the community when he uses his personal time to report the news the LDN refuses to find and print. Not only can one find news of local interest here but also an outlet in which to discuss the things that concern Ludington and Mason County. You obviously do not know the history of LDN's involvment or lack of it regarding local news and politics in Ludington and the surrounding area but you will learn if you pay attention to what LDN does or does not cover and print. Most of the major stories in Mason County have been reported by outside news agencies well before LDN has even acknowledged them. Because of LDN's delayed lack of local news coverage and the fact that the articles they print regarding local politics is always skewed in favor of politicians and the fact that the political stories they print fail to cover both sides of an issue render LDN, to me, as a useless source of media coverage. Years ago I to was ignorant as you are today about the LDN's role in failing to  adequately report corrupt and bad behavior by our elected officials. But if you consider ignorance as bliss then I will assume you will continue to make excuses for newspaper reporting that borders on ineptness or even what could be considered a collusion with the political bosses.

[CLFD]

Willy

Your personal assumptions about my ability to discern reality leaves me a little perplexed.

I am not ignorant of the LDN's methodology. I just think it is childish to keep bashing the LDN.  I do not see the LDN going out of their way to bash the Mason County Press or the Ludington Torch. Let people come here to read the stories XLFD uncovers and make up their own minds.

[Willy]

CLFD

I'm not making personal assumptions about you, I'm making a general assumption which covers anyone who talks from ignorance. Like I said I to was foolishly ignorant of LDN's reporting style until I finally woke up, so either you are ignorant of the facts regarding LDN's biased coverage of local politics or as you have stated, you are not. Then I can only assume you are a "see no evil, here no evil, say no evil' type of person because anyone who has been paying attention will / must know how intertwined LDN is with local politicians and how that has affected impartiality of their reporting regarding what  local politicians are up to. What amazes me is you call a person pointing out irregularities in LDN's reporting as "bashing" but all of the trouble caused by LDN's lack of fair coverage is perfectly acceptable to you. Why is that?

[CLFD]

Willy

"I guess you don't realize what a terrific service X performs"

"You obviously do not know the history of LDN's involvment or lack of it regarding local news and politics in Ludington"

"Years ago I to was ignorant as you are today"

"But if you consider ignorance as bliss then I will assume you will continue to make excuses"

 

I do realize XLFD's contributions.

I do know some about LDN's history.

I do not consider myself ignorant.

You "assume" I make excuses for LDN? Where and when?

[masonco]

This is a tough call. BUT in prison, this is how the sequence goes.

First they buy the envelopes.

Then they fill out their name and inmate number

THEN they can buy the stamps.

So he did legitimately buy that envelope.

What some new prisoners don't realize is that their mail, incoming and outgoing even the emails are reviewed at the mailroom before going out or coming in.

So if it is a scam, someone in the mailroom had to have put the letter in. More seriously, I'm wondering why they released the letter to the media? It is critical evidence in an investigation especially considering Ariel would have known. AND she filed for a marriage license. One big thing with that is once marriage she would not have to say anything in incriminate him.

They should check to see if that envelope was taped on the inside after staff inspected it. I just don't understand how that could have been released to the media without lawyer approval.

Since he is convicted already though can they even file murder charges on him? Or is that possibility still there?

[XLFD]

Some of the chatter is that someone close to the mother leaked the information after a falling out with Ariel.  After reading the letter and sleeping on it overnight, I can't help but believe the letter was made to try and put the best spin on what might have happened once Sean knew of everything that the police had to use against him. 

Even under the worst duress, he should have some sort of idea where the baby was left as he did some very premeditated things that day after that event occurred.  Without the general location where he put Baby Kate, I would have to say he's fibbing, and I find it difficult to believe he hefted the babyseat without knowing the baby was inside.

Law enforcement is right in not trusting the letter, in my opinion, but they are wrong in keeping it from the public until it comes out like this unfiltered a couple months later.  Keeping a lot of information from the public is hampering a police investigation, and perpetuating the perception that the police are conducting an unorthodox investigation. 

[Angie]

Just wonder about PD did they already know about this and already investigated it long ago and WE just did not know about it or are they on foot & phone as we speak doing something on this.

[CLFD]

If the marriage relevation is true then I look for her arrest withn the next 48 hours for hindering an investigation. Either that or she was working with the PD to draw him out.

[XLFD]

In my understanding, the request to the chaplain of the Ionia facility was done a while ago, and they knew of this letter a while ago, so I don't see any police action imminent, unless it is to respond to the media frenzy.

[CLFD]

If she was working with the authorities then obviously no arrest. But if she has withheld information related to what Sean allegedly wrote then I believe an arrest will be made. It has to be.

[Willy]

Angie

Good question. That may be why X was refused the FIOA request for more information regarding this case.

[CLFD]

I agree with Willy. It may be why X was refused the FIOA. Is X trying to sue for the FOIA or not?