John Skelton was sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison Thursday in connection with his missing three young sons.(UPDATE) In a Michigan town nearly 250 miles away from Ludington — where a 5-month-old baby girl has been missing since June — another community is searching for answers in a case similar to that of Sean Michael Phillips.
John Skelton, of Morenci — like Phillips — has been charged with unlawful imprisonment in connection with the disappearance of his three young sons.
Skelton was sentenced Thursday in Lenawee Circuit Court to 10 to 15 years in prison.
Both Skelton and Phillips are said to have had their missing children in their care at the time the children went missing.
Phillips is accused of abducting his infant daughter, Katherine Shelbie-Elizabeth Phillips, on June 29, when her mother briefly left his vehicle. He has refused to tell authorities the whereabouts of the child.
He was charged Wednesday with unlawful imprisonment, a 15-year felony, and parental kidnapping, a felony punishable up to a year and a day in jail. A more serious kidnapping charge against him, a potential life felony, was dismissed Wednesday.
A Mason County Circuit Court judge ruled that the kidnapping felony didn't fit the alleged crime and goes against Michigan law that states a "natural parent" can't be convicted of such a crime. A DNA test has proven Phillips is Baby Kate's father.
Sean Michael Phillips, left, looks on as his attorney, Annette Smedley, center, and Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola sort through paperwork during the court hearing on Sept. 14, 2011, at the Mason County Courthouse. The kidnapping charge against Phillips was dismissed, but he now faces felony charges of unlawful imprisonment and parental kidnapping. (Muskegon Chronicle/Greg Lindstrom)Phillips is scheduled for arraignment on the two lesser charges Tuesday.
In both the Skelton and Phillips cases, the children haven't been found and the fathers refuse to tell authorities where they might be. Extensive searches on both sides of the state haven't turned up any of the four missing children.
Lenawee County senior trial prosecuting attorney Douglas Hartung, who handled Skelton's case, said investigators are treating the case as a “homicide investigation.”
However, actually charging Skelton with open murder "without a body" is going to be difficult, Hartung said.
The Mason County Prosecutor's Office, handling the Phillips case, are wrestling with that same predicament.
“You have to prove the elements of the crime and that's a tough task in any murder case without a body,” Hartung said.
But if they can “prove that (the children) were murdered” Hartung said Skelton can be charged with murder.
Mason County Prosecutor Paul R. Spaniola hasn't said whether he intends to charge Phillips with murder at some point, despite some circumstantial evidence stacked against Phillips.
The Ludington baby's clothes were found in the pants pocket of Phillips when authorities questioned him the day the baby went missing, and her car seat and diaper bag were found in the trunk of his car.
Authorities have not said whether they believe the child is dead or alive.
When asked where the child is, Phillips said he didn't know where "it" is, and told authorities to ask the baby's mother, authorities have said.
Phillips and the baby's mother, Ariel Courtland, had discussed giving the infant up for adoption, authorities said. But in the end, Courtland said she did not want to give the child up and testified that Phillips was angry about the issue the day he drove away with the infant in the back seat of his car.
In the other case, Skelton has said he gave his boys to an organization, but refused to identify it.
He told Judge Margaret M.S. Noe Thursday that he loves his sons Andrew, Alexander and Tanner, and that he has cried every day since their disappearance.
The boys — who were 9, 7 and 5 years old at the time — were last seen on Thanksgiving while visiting their father's home in Morenci, 70 miles southwest of Detroit near the Ohio border.
The boys' mother, Tanya Zuvers, had exclusive custody of them, but had allowed them to visit their father for the holiday.
Investigators don't believe Skelton, and Noe admonished him during Thursday's hearing, saying he has deprived the family and the community of the comfort of knowing where the boys are. Skelton interrupted the judge to say: "Including myself, your Honor."
The judge said she has given Skelton numerous opportunities to come clean about the boys' whereabouts, and he has repeatedly failed to do so.
"Your explanations have been ridiculous," she said.
Skelton pleaded no contest to the charge in July in exchange for prosecutors dropping a parental kidnapping charge. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes, and Skelton later said he made the deal because he hopes to one day spend time with his sons after he's freed.
Skelton had initially been charged with three counts of kidnapping — the same kidnapping charge that's been dismissed in the Phillips case.
But the kidnapping charges against Skelton were applicable at the time, Hartung said, even though he is the father of the three missing boys.
“Even though he's the father, at the time of the event, he had the intent to move the children out of state,” Hartung said.
“It was difficult for us to meet that burden, but with him basically living on the Ohio border, we met that criteria,” he said.
Meanwhile both Skelton and Phillips have remained silent on the whereabouts of their children.
Courtland has said he will only answer "yes" when she's asked him if their daughter is alive. However, authorities haven't turned up any hopeful evidence that that is the case, despite searches conducted through miles of Mason County woods.
No one has come forward to back up a theory that the child was given up for adoption, and investigators have analyzed phones, bank accounts and computers of both Courtland and Phillips.
Adoption papers discovered in Courtland's apartment during the investigation were partially filled out, but Courtland testified she couldn't go through with it, despite Phillips urging her to do so.
The couple also has a 4-year-old daughter, Haley, together.
Courtland has been ruled out as a suspect, authorities say.
Email: hpeters@muskegonchronicle.com