A Lake County judge on Friday did not rule on a state motion that aims to prevent an imprisoned former day care worker from getting a new trial in the 2009 death of a Deerfield toddler.
Instead, Judge Daniel Shanes gave Melissa Calusinski’s defense team 60 days to respond to the state’s motion. Shanes then set a new court date for March 11 and gave no indication a ruling would be made that day.
Attorneys for Calusinski, 29, of Carpentersville, filed a motion this summer seeking to have her murder conviction thrown out, contending that evidence discovered since her trial indicates that the child — 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan — died from pre-existing head injuries, not from Calusinski slamming him to the floor at a Lincolnshire day care center, as prosecutors alleged.