Kate's mom: Where is my daughter, Sean?

LUDINGTON, Mich. (WOOD) - The first day of testimony in the high-profile case regarding the disappearance of a four-month-old Ludington baby and her father's role in that disappearance was divisive and, at time, tense.

In opening statements Tuesday, the prosecution said Sean Phillips had his daughter Kate's clothes in his pocket when he was arrested. But the defense said the baby's mother Ariel Courtland has lied -- drawing clear lines between the prosecution and defense.

Phillips, 22, is facing 15 years in prison on charges he unlawfully imprisoned the girl who came to be known as Baby Kate. She has not been seen since the afternoon of June 29, 2011 in Ludington.

Phillips didn't want the baby, the prosecution said, while the defense claimed Courtland is a liar whose story can not be believed.

"Sean denied he was Kate's father" and wanted Courtland to give her up for adoption, Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola said in his opening statements to the jury. He also told the jury "You may not like" Courtland.

Phillips, represented by defense attorney Annette Smedley, was wearing a red dress shirt and tie amd was seated directly in front of a number of family supporters.

When Smedley addressed the jury, she said, "You have to be able to see if you can keep Ariel's lies straight."

In a previous unrelated case, Smedley was Courtland's defense attorney.

Courtland took the stand around 11:35 a.m. as the first witness in the case.

She testified she was "shocked" to learn she was pregnant with Kate, but very excited.

Under questioning, she said she had obtained adoption papers and filled them out, but only to appease Phillips -- which Prosecutor Spaniola pointed out during his opening statements earlier in the morning.

Those adoption papers brought up another point of contention: Courtland testified she lied under oath during the preliminary exam against Phillips in August. At that time, she testified she went to the Department of Human Services in Grand Rapids merely to use the bathroom.

Tuesday, she admitted that she went there to discuss adopting out Baby Kate and picked up adoption papers. But she did not go through with an adoption application.

During Courtland's time on the stand, a voicemail she left for Phillips was played. On the message, she said, "I swear to God I will kill you. Give me back my child!"

She also said she visited Phillips "almost every Sunday" trying to learn something about where Kate is.

"I hoped that he would tell me something," she said.

Smedley entered about 100 text messages between Courtland and Phillips into evidence on Tuesday afternoon. In some of those texts, Courtland requested money from Phillips to pay for the abortion of Kate.

During a break for attorneys to sort through those text messages, Courtland began to cry as she was hugged by her supporters.

While being questioned about the text messages, Courtland was visibly frustrated and asked Smedley to back away at one point.

Courtland eventually requested and was granted a recess just before 4 p.m.

She returned to the courtroom shortly before the trial broke for the day around 5 p.m. She will likely start off the in the witness stand on Wednesday morning.

A jury was seated Monday for the trial expected to last up to two weeks with Mason County Judge Richard Cooper presiding. Jurors will be allowed to ask the witnesses questions that have been screened by the judge during the trial.

Phillips' parents were subpoenaed and are expected to testify, so they are not in the courtroom Tuesday.

--

For up-to-the-minute information, follow 24 Hour News 8's Leon Hendrix on Twitter -- @leonhendrix