LUDINGTON, Mich. – The Michigan Supreme Court will not upend the conviction and sentence of Sean Michael Phillips in the 2011 death of his four-month-old daughter, known as Baby Kate.
The one-page order issued Tuesday, Oct. 30, lets stand an April decision by the Court of Appeals that upheld Phillips’ conviction for second-degree murder.
Phillips appealed his jury conviction, saying evidence used against him, including a five-page letter he wrote while locked up, should not have been used against him at trial. He also said there was insufficient evidence to convict him.
The infant was last seen alive in Ludington on June 29, 2011 with Phillips, her young father. The girls' body has never been found.
Without a body, prosecutors charged Phillips with unlawful imprisonment. He was convicted and sentenced in June, 2012 to between 10 and 15-years in prison.
Statements Phillips made while in prison, a five-page letter written to the infant's mother and other evidence prompted prosecutors in 2013 to file open murder charges against Phillips.
Numerous court challenges kept the case in limbo until it finally went to trial in fall of 2016.
Phillips was found guilty of second-degree murder in October of 2016. A Mason County judge sentenced him to between 19 and 45 years in prison.
Phillips, 28, is at the Carson City Correctional Facility in Montcalm County. He is not eligible for release until 2032.
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