Father Of Jailed Daycare Worker Demands Her Release After Coroner Bombshell
(CBS) – The father of a woman serving a murder sentence in the 2009 daycare death of a toddler on Friday demanded her release, now that new information has surfaced.
Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd earlier this week classified the death of 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan as "undetermined" and no longer homicide. This comes after Rudd's office discovered X-rays indicating Kingan had suffered a head injury before Melissa Calusinski allegedly harmed the boy at a north suburban daycare. The X-rays were never provided to the woman's legal defense team.
Paul Calusinski held a news conference in front of Lake County Courthouse and told authorities: "You need to let my daughter go. Enough is enough."
He said he spoke with his daughter in prison.
"She's ready to come. That's the purpose of my being here today," Calusinski said.
Calusinski, with a low verbal IQ, admitted harming Kingan in the ninth hour of interrogation, after 79 denials.
Prosecutors said the case is going through its post-trial phase. The next hearing is slated for September.
"This is a pending case before a Lake County Judge. The legal arguments in this case will be decided in a court of law, not by press release," the state's attorney's office said.
The family promises to continue to apply pressure, including a march next week.