Glorifying the Forensic Failures of the Baby Kate Investigation

[XLFD]

The trail of Baby Kate has grown rather cold over the last 14 plus years, but a recent article in Forensic Science Research named "Green clues: unveiling the role of bryophytes in forensic science", co-authored by former LPD Detective JB Wells has brought her back to our attention.  Wells would testify twice in the two trials of Sean Phillips held in 2012 and 2016, along with plant forensic experts, notably Frank Zalewski of MSU, tweaking the idea to juries that Phillips' shoes would point to where he went with Baby Kate.

While six forensic hints located on the bottom of his shoes would lead to a directed search at Mason County's Lemke Drain by dozens of plant experts in 2014 where these six plant fragments were most likely to be found together, nothing would be found.  At the time, they would claim to be absolutely certain that this must be the area (as they do now in the article) because the six mostly common plant material could be found in this area, although the biggest expert did testify earlier:

Cross Exam.: So you could possibly have different layers that from -- you could have visited several different areas and have each, something from each one of those areas on your shoe?  

Telewski: Yeah, that's possible.

Cross Exam.: So all of the items that were found are not necessarily just found in one area?  

Telewski: Not necessarily.

Cross Exam.: And there is many other areas in Ludington that could possibly have these ingredients that you didn't check.  Correct?  

Telewski: Absolutely.

Frankly, Telewski's brand of forensic science would have us believe that all of the botanical scraps found on the bottom of his shoes came from one place, while what came out at trial would indicate that he made at least two more stops that day to buy fireworks and get to his house, situated in its own rural wetland which could have supplied all or most of the six plant fragments.  The timeline doesn't allow for him going back to the Lemke Drain after going to either of the two places, and then there's the problem with the shoes themselves that just didn't match up.

Eleven years after the wild goosegrass chase by 80 biologists, nine years after the local court sentenced Sean Phillips to be in prison until at least 2032 for the murder of a daughter never found, Dr. Telewski and Detective JB Wells try to capitalize on their failure to find Baby Kate and overcome the self-admitted limitations on the plant forensics they utilized starting in 2011.  What follows is the part of this Forensic Science Research article as it pertains to the Baby Kate case followed with analysis by this reporter who has critically reviewed the lackluster investigation of this case over the years.  

Katherine Phillips (Baby Kate); mosses, diatoms, and seed plants aid law enforcement in a murder investigation, Michigan, USA (2011)

Case location and details—A case that took place in 2011 known as the “Baby Kate” case used botanical evidence, including bryophytes to attempt to locate a body. This case has been widely reported in the popular media but never scientifically documented. Co-authors von Konrat, Briscoe, Larraín, Merrill, Reznicek, Stevenson, and Telewski were directly involved in the case led by co-author retired Detective J.B. Wells. Sean Phillips was accused of the murder of Katherine Phillips, a 4-month-old baby who became known as “Baby Kate”. One year after her disappearance, Phillips wrote in a letter that Katherine had died as a result of an accident and he put her to rest in a “peaceful place”, but investigators were unable to recover her body. However, they were able to identify and collect moss tissue that was stuck in dried mud to the bottom of Phillips’ shoe [59].

The Ludington Police Department and Mason County Sheriff’s Office called on the public and requested that any individuals with plant identification skills aid in searching for and locating the specimens that were recovered from the bottom of Phillips’ shoe [59]. In addition to the volunteer scientists, there were support personnel from the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, Ludington Police Department, Michigan State Police, and local fire departments. Assisting in all the logistical planning was the Emergency Manager for Mason County Liz Reimink. Each group was accompanied by one of the experts from the Field Museum, Ferris State University, University of Michigan, and Michigan State University.

Species involved—The bryophyte samples were sent to a team at the Field Museum where they were able to identify the six different species as Sphagnum affine Renauld & Cardot or Sphagnum palustre L., S. girgensohnii Russow (Figure 1E) or Sphagnum fimbriatum Wilson, Plagiomnium ciliare (Müll. Hal.) T.J. Kop. (Figure 1F), Dicranum flagellare Hedw., Hypnum sp. Hedw. (most likely Calliergonella lindbergii var. americana (Renauld & Cardot) J.J. Atwood & Brinda), and Brachytheciaceae (possibly Brachythecium sp. or Eurhynchium sp.). The Field Museum produced a plant identification guide for >80 volunteer scientists involved in an evidentiary field search to look for and collect reference samples that would be used for comparison.

Based on the evidence, the species found on the sole of the suspect’s shoes, the target area would have consisted of red pine (Pinus resinosa Sol. ex Aiton), white cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.), three specific sedges (Carex atlantica subsp. capillacea (L.H.Bailey) Reznicek, Carex leptalea Wahlenb., and Carex interior L.H.Bailey), as well as Sphagnum moss—all growing within a close proximity, which is not a common occurrence according to Dr. Frank W. Telewski, a botanist from Michigan State University, and also co-author of this paper [60].

Forensic significance—The goal of using these bryophyte evidence samples, along with other plant specimens that were recovered, was to pinpoint an area where these species exist together which may have provided a potential location of Katherine’s body. Following a 2-day search, only two grids were found to support all the specimens in the same area: an area labeled “Green Road” and an area labeled “Lemke Drain”.

Telewski’s conclusions were supported by analyses of diatoms found on the sole of the suspect’s shoes. Existing data for diatoms in regional habitats were used to calculate indicators of environmental conditions by Dr Stevenson at Michigan State University, a co-author on this review, as is commonly done in water quality assessments [61–63]. These indicators showed the sediments came from a wetland habitat with relatively low pH and high nutrient concentrations. A wetland with low pH and high nutrients was rare in regional databases and pointed to Lemke Drain as a likely site for further investigation because the stream-side wetlands at Lemke Drain are located near a large agricultural field that could be a source of nutrients. Follow-up collections of sediments from Lemke Drain showed a higher similarity to diatoms on the suspect’s shoes than any other site in the regional database, indicating that Lemke Drain was a likely source of sediments on the suspect’s shoes.

Ludington Police Chief Mark Barnett stated that “The location that would support all 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 added “locations showing a high probability of containing all of these elements have been established and need to be searched to either confirm or eliminate whether Sean was there” [60]. This quote directly explains how this evidence was being used by the county police to try to find Katherine’s remains. While Katherine’s body was not recovered, the analysis and identification of the botanical samples recovered from Phillips’ shoes greatly narrowed down investigators’ search radius. A subsequent conversation between Detective J.B. Wells (co-author on this paper) and Sean Phillips (who was found guilty of second-degree murder) led to Sean Phillips pointing to an area on a map centered around Lemke Drain. This was an area that combined the same composition of diatoms, mosses, sedges, and trees that in all likelihood narrowed down the final resting place of Katherine Phillips from seven Counties to 50 square feet (4.65 m²).

ANALYSIS:  The revelation found in the last part of this article, that JB Wells saw Phillips point to the Lemke Drain on a map, has never been expressed publicly before this.  This would explain why the 2014 search centered only on that area but does not explain why that information would be suppressed throughout the 2016 trial.  Just think, if the open murder suspect actually made an indication of where the missing baby's body was located, wouldn't that be something the prosecution would take advantage of at trial?   This is just JB Wells rewriting history in this article in order to make it look like his overall investigation wasn't a total failure.

Make no mistake, both of the 2012 and 2016 juries that held Sean Phillips to account for the heinous crimes he was charged with heard days of testimony from uniformed and expert witnesses presented by the state which basically had inconclusive circumstantial evidence and a prime witness (Ariel Courtland) who came off as less than credible.  Juries undoubtedly felt compelled to punish someone for the missing baby, and the only target they had for expressing justice was Sean Phillips, who has remained remarkably silent on the topic to this day other than in a 'confession' letter he knew would be read and reviewed by correction officers.  

Thus, when Police Chief Mark Barnett makes a crazy statement about being able to find an exact location for where Baby Kate was placed based on plant forensics, few demand that he should then "Name that tune" and start digging in that 7 ft. by 7 ft. spot indicated by "the science" when the trail was much fresher.  The record actually shows Detective Wells never pursued plant forensics until the trail was 10 months cold, just before the first trial started, ostensibly because they wanted an expert witness to bolster what was then a case propped up by Courtland's testimony and Phillips' muteness.

One would think that 80 biologists and their ilk combing an area around the Lemke Drain area would be able to have mapped out the six biological species matching those found on the bottom of his shoes, but since these were never publicly displayed and not pointed to in this affirmative article drafted by Wells and Telewski, one should accept the fact that the forensics never actually played a part in solving this still-unsolved crime.  At best, it was more fuel added to a prosecution which could secure two convictions but never uncover what actually happened on that June day in 2011 or the whereabouts of Baby Kate.