Lawyers for woman in day care center death seek day in court
Lisa BlackContact ReporterChicago Tribune
Lawyers for a former day care center worker won a small victory in court Monday as they seek to overturn her murder conviction in the death of a toddler in her care.
Melissa Calusinski's attorneys hope to win the right for a hearing on what they say is new X-ray evidence that refutes authorities' claim that the toddler, Benjamin Kingan, of Deerfield, suffered the skull fracture the day he died in 2009.
Calusinski, of Carpentersville, confessed to the crime after a long interrogation, saying she slammed the boy's head to the floor at Minee Subee day care center in Lincolnshire. She was convicted of first-degree murder and is serving a 31-year sentence.
But she had long maintained that her admission was coerced, and her lawyers now say that X-rays found in the coroner's office this June undermine the state's case. Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd also announced this summer that he has reclassified the case from homicide to "undetermined."
Prosecutors did not use X-ray evidence at Calusinski's trial because they said X-rays taken were illegible. But Calusinski's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, said Monday that had the X-rays been formatted correctly, they would have been usable.
At the brief hearing Monday, Judge Daniel Shanes gave the state 90 days to respond to Zellner's request to hold a hearing on what she said is the new X-ray evidence.
Zellner described the outcome as expected and positive. "We are very confident. … Everything has gone perfectly," she said.
Melissa's father, Paul Calusinski, lamented the fact that the family will have to wait another 90 days before the next hearing.
"It's hard for the family. It's hard for Melissa," he said.
Copyright © 2015, Lake County News-Sun
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