hoppyfrog
Retired WS Staff
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http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7947786
29 Feb 08
A 16-year-old girl who died in a house fire Wednesday was chained to her bed.
Michigan State Police told 24 Hour News 8 Calista Springer never had a chance to get out of the burning house.
Springer was a special needs teenager with severe emotional issues who had tried to previously tried to escape from the home in the middle of the night.
Her father and stepmother told police they only recently started tying Calista down after an alarm system they had in place broke. And the stepmother told firefighters right away Calista was upstairs tethered to the top bunk of a bunk bed.
Crews got a ladder to the bedroom window, but the fire was too intense and they could not get inside.
The teen died lying on her back, with a chain and zip ties around her waist, and attached to a bolt on the side of the bed.
Investigators said they tested the alarm and found it worked. Police believe the parents had been chaining Calista for some time because they got tired of getting up every time the alarm went off.
Officials also confirmed to 24 Hour News 8 the Springers had contact with the Department of Human Services a number of years ago, and that caseworkers had warned them about tethering Calista to the bed in case of fire.
29 Feb 08
A 16-year-old girl who died in a house fire Wednesday was chained to her bed.
Michigan State Police told 24 Hour News 8 Calista Springer never had a chance to get out of the burning house.
Springer was a special needs teenager with severe emotional issues who had tried to previously tried to escape from the home in the middle of the night.
Her father and stepmother told police they only recently started tying Calista down after an alarm system they had in place broke. And the stepmother told firefighters right away Calista was upstairs tethered to the top bunk of a bunk bed.
Crews got a ladder to the bedroom window, but the fire was too intense and they could not get inside.
The teen died lying on her back, with a chain and zip ties around her waist, and attached to a bolt on the side of the bed.
Investigators said they tested the alarm and found it worked. Police believe the parents had been chaining Calista for some time because they got tired of getting up every time the alarm went off.
Officials also confirmed to 24 Hour News 8 the Springers had contact with the Department of Human Services a number of years ago, and that caseworkers had warned them about tethering Calista to the bed in case of fire.