Calling it a tragic case of “needless, senseless violence,” a Lake County judge on Thursday sentenced a former day care worker to 31 years in prison for killing a Deerfield toddler in her care.
Melissa Calusinski, 25, of Carpentersville, maintained her innocence on Thursday, although a jury found her guilty on Nov. 16 of first degree murder in the January 2009 death of 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan.
“I was so scared I did not understand what the detectives were telling me to say,” she told the judge, referring to the confession her lawyers say was coerced.
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Calusinksi told police that she intentionally slammed the boy’s head to the ground out of frustration at the now closed Minee Subee in the Park day care center, according to testimony at the trial.
Before Circuit Court Judge Daniel Shanes handed down the sentence, Benjamin Kingan’s mother, Amy Kingan, with her husband Andy at her side, read a statement that was met with tears from many in the crowded courtroom.
“One of the most traumatic memories we have is when we had to say goodbye to our son,” Amy Kingan said. “We sat in a rocking chair with Ben’s cold, lifeless body, hugging and kissing him one last time — trying to comfort him. We prayed through our tears he would wake up and we could take him home.”
Calusinski’s defense team has asked for a new trial, arguing that her confession to police was coerced during a 10-hour interrogation. One of the key errors during the trial, the attorneys allege, is that Shanes did not allow an expert to tell the jury why people sometimes falsely confess. Calusinski’s lawyers said her confession was coerced, due in part to her low IQ.
During a statement before she was sentenced, Calusinski continued to maintain her innocence. However, she told the toddler’s parents that she was sorry for their loss.
“My statements were false, but I had no choice but to admit those things,” she said. “I was so scared I did not understand what the detectives were telling me to say. I knew I had to go along with them or I would never get out of the room.”
Calusinski sat stoically when the judge delivered the 31-year sentence. She could have received between 20 years up to natural life in prison and was prepared for even worse, her attorney Paul DeLuca said later.
“Melissa is innocent,” DeLuca said “This is only the top of the third inning. We’ve got a great appellate team” led by Kathleen Zellner.
Calusinski’s father, Paul Calusinski, compared his daughter’s case with two other high-profile false confession cases in Lake County which were later overturned – Jerry Hobbs and Juan Rivera.
“I’m telling you, my daughter was coerced into a confession,” he said. “She told the judge, we are going to fight.”
Assistant State’s Atty. Steve Scheller said he had no doubt the confession was valid.
“The issue of the confession was litigated over months and months,” he said. “The jury clearly rejected that the confession was false.”
The Kingans declined to comment after the sentencing, but Scheller was asked how they reacted to the judge’s decision.
“Obviously this has been a very difficult process for them,” he said. “The sentence is not going to give them closure. There’s nothing the judge could do or we could do as prosecutors that would bring them closure.”
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