Attorney General confident in case against Phillips

AG Bill Schuette talks with Sheriff Kim Cole, left, and LPD Chief Mark Barnett.

By Rob Alway. Editor-in-Chief. 

LUDINGTON — Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said his office is ready to prosecute Sean Michael Phillips. The AG was at House of Flavors Restaurant this afternoon as part of his campaign kickoff.

In October 2013, Schuette and Mason County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Spaniola announced that they were filing charges against Phillips for the murder of his 4-month-old daughter, Katherine “Baby Kate” Phillips.

Katherine Phillips was last seen on June 29, 2011. In April 2012, Phillips was found guilty of unlawful imprisonment of the baby. Mason County’s 51st Circuit Court Judge Richard Cooper sentenced Phillips to a 10- to 15-year prison sentence.

The attorney who will be assisting Spaniola is Donna Pendergast. “She is one of our aces,” Schuette told MCP this afternoon. “Donna is a very skilled attorney. She has been working with Ludington Police Chief Mark Barnett and Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole, along with Prosecutor Spaniola and the Michigan State Police. We think we have a strong case.

“I can’t get into specifics but I think we will have a very thorough and complete case to present evidence in court.”

Phillips is scheduled to appear in front of Judge Peter Wadel in Mason County’s 79th District Court on April 3 and 4 for a preliminary examination.