GUILTY IL - Benjamin Kingan, 16 mos, dies of head injury, Lincolnshire, 14 Jan 2009

New Posts

twinkiesmom said:
It was reported in the Tribune that Melissa had a written complaint against her in the past, and the owners transfered her to a different facility in their system rather than firing her.

And this nugget which explains why she wasn't fired:
<<Calusinski's sister, Crystal, also works at the Lincolnshire center and helped get her transferred.>>


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-toddler-death-22-jan22,0,3036628.story
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-day_care_death_jan18,0,4483168.story
Click to expand...

:eek: Well, as far as I'm concerned she has his blood on her hands, too!

WTF, were they that hard up for employees? She should have been gone, gone, gone!!

Could the sister face some sort of charges? IMO, she should!
 
Dobler said:
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=271418&src=3

"The Lake County grand jury on Wednesday indicted Melissa M. Calusinski on 14 counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery of a child for slamming 16-month-old Benjamin Kingon of Deerfield to the ground Jan. 14, said Assistant States Attorney Steve Scheller, chief of the felony review division. "
Click to expand...

:waitasec: can someone explain the 14 counts of first-degree murder to me?

That made me think she had killed 14 children!!:eek:
 
Man... this story makes my soul hurt.
 
This is just awful. That poor baby, and his poor family. I have a 15 month old baby, and a 5.5 year old, both boys, I cannot imagine what this family is going through.
I know that all day cares are not like this, but this is one of those stories that makes me happy that I am able to stay home with my boys. Not everyone has that choice, and I am grateful that I do.

I just can't believe that they had previous complaints and didn't deal with it properly!!
 
Lovejac said:
:waitasec: can someone explain the 14 counts of first-degree murder to me?

That made me think she had killed 14 children!!:eek:
Click to expand...

It's the vagaries of IL law....I think we saw the same thing happen with the Vaughn case...more first degree murder charges than actual victims.

Yikes, I could be in the jury pool for this one!

The latest in the case (www.dailyherald.com) is the judge is maintaining the high bond ($5 million), and her folks can't get her released on their home equity.
 
I too am wondering about the 14 counts. That is confusing.
 
I don't remember the explanation but in the C. Myers case he was charged with multiple counts of first degree murder and I think I remember reading that once it goes to trial they will be combined into one count.

Dont' go by my word, because I'm only vague about it but I think IIRC the multiple charges are brought forth to the Grand Jury for their consideration.

Once it goes into trial phase the charges of first degree will become one count, and IIRC it does have to do with IL law.
 
twinkiesmom said:
It's the vagaries of IL law....I think we saw the same thing happen with the Vaughn case...more first degree murder charges than actual victims.

Yikes, I could be in the jury pool for this one!

The latest in the case (www.dailyherald.com) is the judge is maintaining the high bond ($5 million), and her folks can't get her released on their home equity.
Click to expand...

Yes - I recall that about the Vaughn case too, twinkiesmom.
 
http://www.techbanyan.com/3312/melissa-calusinski/

shocked Says:
March 1st, 2009 at 7:23 pm
I have known Melissa for most of my life. We practically grew up together. For her to do something like this is uncharacteristic. When I heard about it I was completely shocked. She has always been a very caring and loving person. I am very heartbroken for not only the parents of this child but also for her and her family. I can guarantee this was not on purpose, she would never intend to hurt a child. She did lose her temper and committed a horrible crime. I do think she should be punished, but not life in prison. Im sure she has remorse for what she has done. I am a mother of an 18 mo. old and if this were to happen to my child I would be devastated. My heart goes out to Ben&#8217;s family. This is a perfect example of why are parents always told us to think before you act. Even one small mistake can change into a horrible situation that you will regret for the rest of your life.
Click to expand...
 
When I googled her father's name (Paul), there is someone with the same name and same town who has a conviction in 1988 (resisting arrest stemming from a domestic violence situation). If this is her father, she would have been about 2 years old at the time of the incident. It would explain the source of the rage. (Not condone it, never condone it.)
 
twinkiesmom said:
When I googled her father's name (Paul), there is someone with the same name and same town who has a conviction in 1988 (resisting arrest stemming from a domestic violence situation). If this is her father, she would have been about 2 years old at the time of the incident. It would explain the source of the rage. (Not condone it, never condone it.)
Click to expand...

Of course not, just gives more insight. Wonder how long before a trial? I'm assuming a trial because she pleaded not guilty.

Does anyone know if the day care was re-opened?
 
<<Calusinski's trial is set for June. She is scheduled to be in court again April 7.>>

The quote above is from the last article published on the case:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1446162,5_1_WA24_BONDHELD_S1.article

I have not found any news articles announcing the reopening of the daycare. I suspect the location where the death occurred is still closed but the other two are still open (never closed).

My work is very close to the closed daycare and one of my coworkers considered that facility.

I know one of the national news commentators picked up on this story and somehow got the idea this daycare was in a bad area...quite the opposite, very upscale (almost north shore) suburb of Chicago. Maybe they had the area of the daycare confused with the town where Melissa's from which is more modest.
 
twinkiesmom said:
<<Calusinski's trial is set for June. She is scheduled to be in court again April 7.>>

The quote above is from the last article published on the case:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1446162,5_1_WA24_BONDHELD_S1.article

I have not found any news articles announcing the reopening of the daycare. I suspect the location where the death occurred is still closed but the other two are still open (never closed).

My work is very close to the closed daycare and one of my coworkers considered that facility.

I know one of the national news commentators picked up on this story and somehow got the idea this daycare was in a bad area...quite the opposite, very upscale (almost north shore) suburb of Chicago. Maybe they had the area of the daycare confused with the town where Melissa's from which is more modest.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info! After I posted, I went to cook dinner. Just got back on. This story just breaks my heart. I really want to keep up with this.
 
twinkiesmom said:
Daycare owner was recently arrested for obstruction of justice related to investigation of toddler death....allegedly told workers to lie to cover the fact that Melissa was the only worker in the room.

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/lincolnshire/news/1505851,lr-katz2-040109-p1.article
Click to expand...


Wow! Thank God that worker came to her senses or she would be in the middle of this mess too.

I can almost cry when I think about what happened to Benjamin.:mad:

I wish ALL of her daycare centers were closed down.

Thanks for keeping us updated twinkiesmom, did this case happen near you?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 173 more.
Total: 3,992 (members: 174, guests: 3,818)

Online statistics

Members online
174
Guests online
3,818
Total visitors
3,992
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
591,657
Messages
17,957,067
Members
228,579
Latest member
rodrigokurita
Back
Top