Nearly five years after a suburban day care worker was found guilty of murder in the death of a toddler, a Lake County judge is expected to rule Monday on whether to allow new testimony to be heard in the case — a turn the woman’s lawyers hope will lead to a reversal of her conviction.
A victory for Melissa Calusinski, whose case has attracted national attention, would give her legal team the chance to offer up what they say is new evidence showing that the boy in Calusinski’s care died not by her hand but from a previous injury — a claim prosecutors dispute.
A victory for Melissa Calusinski, whose case has attracted national attention, would give her legal team the chance to offer up what they say is new evidence showing that the boy in Calusinski’s care died not by her hand but from a previous injury — a claim prosecutors dispute.
Calusinski, a Carpentersville woman who worked at the now-closed Minee Subee in the Park day care center in Lincolnshire, confessed to killing 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan of Deerfield by slamming his head to the floor. But her lawyers have maintained the admission was coerced following a lengthy interrogation by investigators.
Nonetheless, a jury rejected the possibility of a lesser offense and found her guilty of first-degree murder. Calusinski, now 29, was sentenced to 31 years in prison. Read more >>