A Mason County Circuit Court judge has ruled prosecutors can pursue open murder charges against Sean Phillips, WZZM-13 reported.

Phillips is the 25-year-old father of Katherine "Baby Kate" Phillips, a 4½-month-old who went missing from the Ludington area in June 2011.

In September, District Judge Peter J. Wadel dismissed murder charges against Phillips, saying prosecutors did not prove Baby Kate had been killed.
The child's body has never been found.

In court proceedings today, Michigan Assistant Attorney General Donna Pendergast asked Mason County Circuit Judge Richard Cooper to overturn the earlier decision to dismiss felony charges against Phillips, WZZM-13 reported. Defense attorney David Glancy argued against the reinstatement of the charges.

Pendergast is working with Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola on the case.

Phillips was not in court because he is currently in the Carson City Correctional Facility serving a 10- to 15-year sentence for unlawful imprisonment in connection with Baby Kate's disappearance.

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