Melissa M. Calusinski threw a 16-month old boy to the ground

[Sister Iroz]

http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo35/Special2bme/120562.jpgA 22-year-old Carpentersville woman was charged today with two counts of first-degree murder in the death of a 16-month-old boy at the Lincolnshire day care center where she worked.

Lincolnshire police said that Melissa M. Calusinski, of the 500 block of Apache Avenue in Carpentersville, worked as a teacher's assistant at Minee-Subee Day Care Center on Marriott Drive. She was being held in custody Saturday in lieu of $5 million bail.

Police say Calusinski told investigators in a videotaped statement that on Wednesday, she threw 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan of Deerfield to the ground at the day care center. The boy was taken to the hospital, where he later died. An autopsy confirmed the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head, police said.

The Lincolnshire Police Department, with help from the Lake County Major Crime Task Force and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, are investigating the death.

Kendall Marlowe, a spokesman for DCFS, said the agency is looking into an allegation of death by neglect of the day care center.

"We have had no prior child protection investigations of this center," he said.

The facility has been licensed since 1994 and has the capacity to hold 145 children, ranging from ages of 6 weeks old to 12 years, he said. The facility operates from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=265258

[Spitfire77]

Evil bitch. If I was that baby's mother, I'd do something just so I could be put in jail with her...

[theskyisfalling]

I swear to God if someone did something like this to my kid I would have their fucking head on a plate.

[Tazzzz]

Melissa M. Calusinski. 22
http://media1.suntimes.com/multimedia/melissa%20calusinksi%20arrest%20phot.jpg_20090117_ 14_40_34_46-282-400.imageContent



A 22-year-old daycare center employee has been charged in the murder of a toddler after police say she confessed to forcefully throwing the boy to the ground at the Lincolnshire center.

Bond for Melissa M. Calusinski, of 528 Apache Ave. in Carpentersville, was set at $5 million Saturday. Calusinski is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the death of 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan, authorities said.

Benjamin died from a head injury and his death was ruled a homicide, Keller said. Investigators determined the boy’s injuries were consistent with being struck by a hard object, the release said

Calusinski was interviewed and a videotaped statement was given. She told investigators she forcefully threw the boy to the ground and called other staff members for help on the phone. Although CPR was initiated by staff members the boy was taken to Condell, where he was pronounced dead, the release said.

The center is licensed for a capacity of 145 children, ranging in age from 6-weeks to 12-years-old and has been in operation since 1994, Marlowe said.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1383748,w-lincolnshire-daycare-dad-baby-011709.article
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Here is the cunts, Myspace page
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=98336652

*~MELISSA~* POLISH PRINCESS's About me:

Hi my name is Melissa im 21 yrs old i work for a daycare for the age of three i love it there I've been there for almost a year... I love kids alot i babysit for 5 boys they're like my little brothers lol... I been livin in Carpentersville my whole life. My parents own a family business that me and them run its a bait and tackle shop in algonquin. I live wit my parents the only left in the nest. Im jus lookin for a guy who is trust worthy, resonable not fake or a two face, someone whos real and honest and that loves to party and have a good time and not embarrassed by ne thin wat so ever, and someone who knows how to treat a girl wit the right respect that a girl needs to b treated in a relationship...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Silvahalo]

No doubt I would have taken this piece of shit down where she stands.


Benjamin Kingan...kisses sweet baby.
http://i38.tinypic.com/s440sk.jpg

[Tazzzz]

Her mug shot kind of makes her look like a METH Head.

http://tribalmask.net/dreamin-demon/Melissa-Calusinski00.jpg

http://tribalmask.net/dreamin-demon/Melissa-Calusinski01.jpg

http://tribalmask.net/dreamin-demon/Melissa-Calusinski02.jpg



Calusinski said she was angry and frustrated with the toddler because he was noisy. Calusinski admitted throwing Kingan to the ground. Kingan was found unresponsive on Wed. Jan 14. The prosecutor said Kingan’s skull was fractured
http://celebgalz.com/melissa-calusinski-benjamin-kingan-calusinski-charged-for-kingans-death/
++++++++++++++++++++++++


Wednesday at the Minee Subee in the Park Center and later pronounced dead. Scheller says the boy's skull was fractured with force consistent with a drop from the top of a one- or two-story building.

Scheller says Calusinski was a teacher's aide at the center. He says Calusinski said she was frustrated and angry with the boy because he was being noisy.

http://www.fortmilltimes.com/124/story/426304.html
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


An autopsy also revealed that Kingan's skull was fractured and there was massive bleeding inside his brain.

Calusinski, a teacher's assistant who had been working at the facility for a year, told investigators while inside the large classroom with seven other children and another adult that she "forcefully threw the boy to the ground" unnoticed by the other adult in the room, said Lincolnshire Det. Adam Hyde.

It was then that Kingan crawled to grab a blanket, and climbed into a chair before passing out several minutes later, authorities said.

Calusinski said she became frightened and called other employees for help.

Keller said even though the child suffered a tremendous blow to the head, those types of injuries are not immediately fatal.

Investigators who interviewed staff members at the center were able to identify Calusinski as a teacher's assistant who was in contact with Benjamin throughout the day, Hyde said.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/kid/997033033.html

[TheLittleFriend]

"...Calusinski said she was angry and frustrated with the toddler because he was noisy..."

Walk, bitch, walk. That's all....just walk away. My kids are noisy. When they're getting on my nerves, I walk outside or in my room alone.

[Uvgottabkiddin]

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=98336652

SHE LOVES KIDS !!!!!

Looking for a babysitter? I'll keep your kids quiet..... forever

[Death Bed]

That's so sad, the kid grabbed a blanket and crawled in a chair to die. This story fucks with me.

[Uvgottabkiddin]

Looking at her, I think the baby jumped. Eeh God!!!!

[ImNotLisa]

You gotta wonder with these cases..... did the gal just have a one time major freak attack??? Or did she do this in the past, with less severe consequences or injuries. I find it hard to believe a person just totally LOSES it in one instant, especially because the kid was noisy? WTF?? And she's been working there a year... certainly there's been some noise before now.

This just chaps my hide.

[AussieMum]

OMG! I was reading through this thinking how awful, just terrible etc. Then I read how the little boy grabbed a blanket, headed to the chair and just started bawling. Poor little guy!!

I think I'm feeling particularly sensitive as my daughter has just had a brain scan (waiting on the results). Completely different circumstances though.

This poor darling boy, kids are noisy and should be 200% safe in an approved child care facility!!

[Jaded]

She's front-paged....

http://www.dreamindemon.com/2009/01/18/melissa-calusinski-loves-kids/

I hate her.

[Nell]

That bitch needs Proactiv bad.

I woke up this morning to the baby yelling. It was still dark. I had been up 3 times with her already. I lay there thinking, "I need a fucking break. One day to myself, it has been 5 fucking months!"

Then I read this on the front page, kissed my ALIVE child, and decided she wasn't that bad for waking me.

[DogMom]

It was then that Kingan crawled to grab a blanket, and climbed into a chair before passing out several minutes later.

:crying: Oh that poor child. My heart is breaking.

[Sister Iroz]

That bitch needs Proactiv bad.

LOL Nell when I saw her mugshot I thought the same damn thing. Now if that were my child, she wouldn't be alive to go to jail because I will have killed the bitch.

[Sister Iroz]

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. - In his last moments of life, 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan picked up his blanket and crawled to a bouncy chair police later said was his "comfort zone."

The toddler, who died of a skull fracture and internal bleeding by a blow to head, was allegedly killed by a suburban Chicago daycare worker earlier in the week.

Melissa M. Calusinski, 22, of Carpentersville, spent her first night behind bars and remained jailed Sunday on $5 million bond.

Police said she confessed to growing angry with the child and throwing him to the floor of the Minee Subee daycare in Lincolnshire on Wednesday. She was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

The daycare's attorney, Matt Walsh, released a statement that said the center had put Calusinski on administrative leave and she "will not be returning to the facility pending resolution of the matter."

A message left Sunday for Walsh was not immediately returned. It was unclear if Walsh would be representing Calusinski.

Police said Calusinski initially claimed she wasn't involved. There were no outward signs of Calusinski's alleged actions and a preliminary investigation showed that Benjamin died of natural causes, Lincolnshire Police Chief Randy Melvin said.

But, "it is even more tragic than we thought," he said.

The child's family postponed funeral services set for Saturday after Lake County Coroner Richard Keller found a blow to the head had fractured Benjamin's skull and caused internal bleeding. The wound caused slow swelling that allowed the child time to crawl to his chair.

It "was his comfort zone, his little bouncy chair," Lincolnshire Detective Adam Hyde said.

There were seven other children and another adult in the room when Calusinski, a teacher's assistant, threw Benjamin, police said. But the other adult didn't see what happened, they said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-daycaredeath,0,5309683.story

[DogMom]

The daycare's attorney, Matt Walsh, released a statement that said the center had put Calusinski on administrative leave and she "will not be returning to the facility pending resolution of the matter."

What a stupid thing to say. "Pending resolution of the matter". As if she what...stole a couple of checks? Hid a carton of milk in her purse? Chatted too much on her cell phone during pick up and drop off?

She murdered a child. And this attorney thinks resolution of the matter is all that's required? I'll give them resolution of the matter. Fedex this bitch straight to hell.

[weavergroupie]

Fedex this bitch straight to hell.

FedEx doesn't accept human waste. Or even pure clumps of asshole like this one.

[Silvahalo]

:crying: Oh that poor child. My heart is breaking.


It was then that Kingan crawled to grab a blanket, and climbed into a chair before passing out several minutes later.

This too broke my heart. He just lay there with his blankie and went unconscious...the last fucking face he saw was that ugly bitch. For that alone, she deserves life in prison, better yet, kill her, she's a waste of space.

Kisses sweet Benjamin...

[Jaded]

Her friends are suprpised and mystified!!


People who know Melissa Calusinski said Sunday that they could not understand how someone who had worked with children for years could have lost her composure so tragically that, police say, she killed a toddler in frustration.

A teacher's assistant at a day-care center in Lincolnshire, Calusinski, 22, of Carpentersville had cared for older children "as long as I can remember," said Brittany Baker, who said she has known Calusinski for 10 years.

"She loved kids," Baker said. "As far as I knew, she liked everybody she worked with."

......

As Benjamin's family on Sunday completed funeral arrangements for the boy, Matt Walsh, an attorney for the Minee Subee in the Park day-care center, said Calusinski and another employee in the room that day were suspended pending an investigation by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. The other employee was not a suspect in the criminal inquiry, authorities said.

A criminal background check turned up nothing when Minee Subee hired Calusinski a year ago at a northwest suburban location, Walsh said. The woman later transferred to the branch in Lincolnshire. The center will be open Monday, he added.

......

Officials said Calusinski originally told them the child fell, but changed her story when autopsy evidence showed injuries more consistent with a one- or two-story fall.

"It's not at all the person I know," said Jason Strackany, 22, of Elgin, a childhood friend of Calusinski. "I really think there has to be more to this story."

Part of it played out on Calusinski's MySpace page, which was decorated with lipstick kisses, music and the nickname "Polish Princess."

Benjamin's visitation has been set for 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesday in the Kolssak Funeral Home, 189 S. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling. The funeral service is set for 11 a.m. Wednesday.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-daycare-follow-19-jan19,0,1092450.story

[Sister Iroz]

Melissa Calusinski -- the day care aide charged with murdering 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan -- often spoke of her love for children and juggled several jobs, friends and neighbors said Monday.

"She's a very nice girl. She has a lot of patience," said Linda Gutierrez, a neighbor of Calusinski in northwest suburban Carpentersville. "She's really good with kids. She's baby-sat for years.

"She was good even with her dog -- her [Chihuahua] dog died in her arms," Gutierrez continued. "She held [the dog] in her arms until she died."

Longtime friend Usheka Field saw Calusinski a few weeks ago when Calusinski was at the grocery store where Field works.

"She said 'I love kids,' and she said she loved her job, but she did say she was looking for a new job" to better herself, according to Field, who has known Calusinski since they attended Barrington High School.

Calusinskitold Field she was miffed about being dropped from a sister's wedding party after a spat. "She was mad" about that, Field said.

Calusinski, who lives with her parents, previously worked at a music store at Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee; in the shoe department at the Kohl's store in the mall, and at her family's bait shop in Algonquin, friends and neighbors said.

"Those girls were earning their own money, they were mowing the lawns" as well, Gutierrez said. Calusinski would tell people: "'I have four jobs. I do this; I do that,'" according to Gutierrez.

Another neighbor said Calusinski was the youngest in her family. She has two sisters and two brothers, the neighbor said.

The Minee Subee day care center in Lincolnshire, where Calusinski worked, was open Monday. An attorney, Matt Walsh, was there to answer parents' questions.

A sister of Calusinski -- who also works for the company but at a different location -- was on a self-imposed leave and chose not to work Monday, Walsh said.

Oh, so she is a nice girl who treated her dog well, but not children.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1386868,CST-NWS-daycare20.article

[Sister Iroz]

The twin sister of 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan was in the room when an aide allegedly threw the toddler to the floor of a Lincolnshire day-care center, fatally injuring him, friends and relatives said Monday.

With visitation for the toddler set for today, his parents must not only grapple with losing a child but with how to support a "twinless twin."

"It's horrific,'' said one friend of the Deerfield family who asked not to be named. Losing a child is tragic enough, but "with twins, there's a specialness to it for the parents and the twin that loses the other one.''

Benjamin died Jan. 14. Two days later, Amy and Andy Kingan took Benjamin's twin sister, Emily, and 3-year-old brother, Jacob, to a pediatrician for tests to see if they carried any genetic abnormalities that could have led to Benjamin's death.

"At that time, we didn't know about the murder investigation, so there were certain tests the pediatrician wanted to do,'' a relative said. "He went over her [Emily] very carefully.''

However, by the next day, day-care aide Melissa Calusinski, 22, had been charged with murdering Benjamin.

It was unclear whether Emily -- among eight children in the room -- saw what happened.

Andy Kingan's aunt, Sharon Young, said she can't help but wonder how Emily is responding.

"Even though she is so young, you bond with your twin,'' Young said. "I'm sure she knows that he's not there.''

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1386866,CST-NWS-dayfam20.article

[Silvahalo]

Certainly makes it more tragic...Benjamin's sister no longer has her twin brother. I know she must feel a loss...something missing. So sorry little one.

Kisses Benjamin...your sister will live life for you, I know she misses you.

[theskyisfalling]

Myspace has been deleted. I guess the backlash was too much for her or her family to handle.

[Sister Iroz]

Even as investigators continue their probe into the death of a toddler at a Lincolnshire day-care center, a parent and a former co-worker said they raised concerns about the suspect, Melissa Calusinski.

The teacher's aide "was sitting in the middle of the room, on a bookshelf . . . staring off into space, like she wasn't even there mentally," said parent Adina Williams, recalling an incident last August when she picked up her daughter at the Arlington Heights day-care center, where Calusinski then worked.

"The kids were running and chasing each other. There was no discipline."

Williams of Palatine said she wrote a letter last August to the administrator of Minee Subee Grand in Arlington Heights, saying that Calusinski needed additional training to work with children.

Calusinksi worked in Arlington Heights until her transfer a few months ago to Minee Subee in the Park in Lincolnshire, where police say she killed the toddler by throwing him forcefully to the ground because he was noisy.

A former co-worker, who asked not to be identified, said she verbally raised concerns about Calusinski to the Arlington Heights administrator after allegedly seeing the aide grab a child's arm.

On Wednesday, relatives and friends packed a Wheeling funeral home to remember 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan. Police say that on Jan. 14, Calusinski threw Benjamin down hard enough to fracture his skull. The toddler crawled with his blanket to a bouncy chair, where he later died, according to police.

Calusinski, 22, of Carpentersville, was charged over the weekend with two counts of first-degree murder and has been held in lieu of $5 million bail. Her father declined to comment on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a 2007 state inspection uncovered three violations at the day-care center where Benjamin died, Minee Subee in the Park, a Department of Children and Family Services official said Wednesday.

The 2007 report said the center failed to notify the agency of "an emergency, accident, unusual incident, disaster or medical problem," and also failed to notify parents. DCFS spokesman Kendall Marlowe did not elaborate.

The Lincolnshire center was also cited with failing to supervise children, Marlowe said.

Williams said she removed her 4-year-old daughter in August from the Minee Subee in Arlington Heights, in part because the aide seemed unable to control children in her daughter's room.

In a letter, Williams said she told the Arlington Heights center's director, Beth Katz, that Calusinski needed more training to work with children. Katz, the daughter of Minee Subee president Judith Katz, did not return a call for comment.

"This is a tremendously serious matter, and a comprehensive investigation by authorities is still under way," said the day-care center's lawyer, Matt Walsh, in a statement.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-toddler-death-22-jan22,0,3036628.story

[Tazzzz]

I still think the bitch was on drugs of some kind. My heart goes out to the little twin, poor little thing lost a part of herself.

[sanityslipping]

The teacher's aide "was sitting in the middle of the room, on a bookshelf . . . staring off into space, like she wasn't even there mentally," said parent Adina Williams, recalling an incident last August when she picked up her daughter at the Arlington Heights day-care center, where Calusinski then worked.



The teacher's aide "was sitting in the middle of the room, on a bookshelf . . . staring off into space, like she wasn't even there mentally," said parent Adina Williams, recalling an incident last August when she picked up her daughter at the Arlington Heights day-care center, where Calusinski then worked.



Williams said she removed her 4-year-old daughter in August from the Minee Subee in Arlington Heights, in part because the aide seemed unable to control children in her daughter's room.

In a letter, Williams said she told the Arlington Heights center's director, Beth Katz, that Calusinski needed more training to work with children. Katz, the daughter of Minee Subee president Judith Katz, did not return a call for comment.

Why was she still there?? If someone had taken heed to what people were saying this poor baby would still be alive. I mean shit, this didn't come out of nowhere. Kudos to the mom who removed her child from her care.

[DarkPrincess]

She looks like she has meth face. Not that I care if she was on drugs. I say toss her off a building and be done with it. That would resolve the matter, wouldn't it?

[Sister Iroz]

An attorney for the woman accused of killing a 16-month-old boy in a Lincolnshire day-care center last week says his client is "scared and nervous" as she's being held in the Lake County jail.

Scott Gordon, the defense lawyer, filed a motion Thursday in Lake County circuit court seeking a reduction in the $5 million bond for teacher's assistant Melissa Calusinski, 22, of the 500 block of Apache Avenue in Carpentersville.

Gordon said 10 percent of the $5 million that Calusinski would have to post to be freed before trial is "unfair" because she doesn't have a criminal history and isn't a flight risk. A hearing on the motion is set for Feb. 17.

"She's scared and nervous," Gordon said after Thursday's hearing in Waukegan. "She's never been in jail before."
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=266478

Fucking cry me a river, who gives a shit if she is scared. I bet the little boy was scared when she picked him up and threw him to his death.



So Jaded there is another article 2 or 3 posts down from this I posted as well today.

[Jaded]

The day-care center where a toddler was fatally injured Jan. 14 has been closed by the state "pending the outcome of criminal and child protection investigations."

Minee Subee in the Park, 400 Marriott Drive, was ordered closed Friday by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

A DCFS spokesman refused to say specifically what prompted the agency to wait two weeks to close the Lincolnshire facility. Melissa M. Calusinski, 22, a teacher's aide there, is charged with first-degree murder after allegedly hurling 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan to the floor Jan. 14.

Also on Friday, DCFS announced it was investigating a complaint at another Minee Subee facility.

A law-enforcement source said DCFS ordered the closure after a review of the Lincolnshire center's records showed "numerous violations" of state regulations that officials failed to report in the last year. No details of the violations were disclosed, however.

Lincolnshire Police Chief Randy Melvin said the Lake County Major Crime Task Force on Friday executed a search warrant for "computers and files" at the Lincolnshire center. Melvin would not say what police were searching for.

Marlowe said DCFS is investigating a Jan. 21 complaint about Minee Subee Grand in Arlington Heights. The complaint alleges two "licensing violations," Marlowe said.

"It's not an abuse or neglect investigation," he said.

One alleged violation includes the center's failure to notify DCFS of "an emergency accident, unusual incident, disaster or medical problem." Marlowe would not discuss details of the complaint. The other alleged violation is a "failure to comply with requirements regarding age group and group size."

Also Friday, Benjamin's parents met with Lake County prosecutors handling the murder charges filed against Calusinski, who is accused of hurling the boy so violently to the floor that he suffered fatal head injuries.


http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1408656,5_1_WA02_DAYCARE_S1.article

[Dakota Valkyrie]

The day-care aide charged with murdering 16-month-old Benjamin Kingman was indicted on charges that will make her eligible to serve a life sentence if she's convicted.

A Lake County grand jury indicted Melissa Calusinski, 22, of Carpentersville on 14 counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery to a child. Six of the murder counts make her eligible for life in prison because of their severity, said Assistant Lake County State's Attorney Steve Scheller.http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1426760,5_1_WA12_DAYCARE_S1.article

[seductress]

She's scared and nervous," Gordon said after Thursday's hearing in Waukegan. "She's never been in jail before."

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=266478

This story was the very first story to ever completely break my heart. Hit pretty close to home, my youngest, Benjamin, was the very first and last to go to daycare. He is no longer in daycare, not because of this story but because he cried everyday and had that very afraid look on his face when I took him to daycare.

[Kimberix]

I hate this story, I think about this story and cry for that baby everytime my baby crawls into his boncer which is every damn day....alot....crying now dammit, I dream about this bitchs death.....I wish I had the money I would be hiring jailhouse girls to fuck her up hard, stupid cunt, she is the reason my baby has never gone into daycare.....and that's not fair because daycare can be a very enriching environment with the right people.....not gonna take that chance though...nope....stupid bitch.rot from the inside out.

[Wicked Doll]

Lake County authorities charge that in the days after a toddler's death allegedly at the hands of a day-care worker, the day care center's owner tried to conceal that the center had been in violation of a staffing law.

Lincolnshire police on Monday arrested Judith Katz, 64, of Arlington Heights on two counts of felony obstruction of justice.

Katz owned the now-closed Minee Subee in the Park day care center in Lincolnshire, where 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan of Deerfield died on Jan. 14.

Day-care worker Melissa Calusinski, 22, of Carpentersville, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery of a child. Police said Calusinski threw Benjamin to the floor because he was noisy, cracking his skull.

Three days later, Lincolnshire Police Detective John-Erik Anderson said, Katz gathered employees and told them two staff members, including Calusinski, were in the room when Benjamin died.

Anderson said investigators are now certain Calusinski was in the room alone, a violation of state rules, and that Katz was trying to hide that violation.

Anderson said investigators noticed inconsistencies and re-interviewed staffers, who said two people were in the room with Benjamin because that's what Katz told them to say.

Attorneys for Minee Subee released a statement Monday that emphasized Katz has not been accused of having a role in the death, and they believe she will be exonerated.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-lincolnshire-day-care-chargemar31,0,6514904.story

[Nell]

Everytime I see this thread I get pissed. I hate this bitch, I hate her!!

[PoongyPrincess]

That's so sad, the kid grabbed a blanket and crawled in a chair to die. This story fucks with me.

That line made my insides turn to ice. How horrible :puke:

[seductress]

This story still breaks my heart. I cannot imagine that little boy dieing all by himself because of this cold hearted bitch.

The other issue I have is that after she did this, parents were still dropping off their children at this center. Never would I have taken my babies back there.

[Wicked Doll]

Everytime I see this thread I get pissed. I hate this bitch, I hate her!!

Yeah, me too. Her pouty little mugshot just makes me want to kick things. . .primarily her.

It is a reminder to all of us that losing your cool actually has consequences. Personally, I would love to see her thrown up against a prison wall and have to crawl to her cell to die. Bitch.

[PoongyPrincess]

I could see her getting off with temporary insanity. What it sounds like to me, is that she was having a really rotten day, she was at the end of her rope basically, and the little boy was just the final straw. I don't think she threw him, I think it's much more likely that she was holding him with him facing her and after trying to make him quiet she pushed him forcefully away from her and it slammed him into the ground right at her feet. Imagine someone in your face and you finally just push them away and say "Get away from me!"--that's what I'm picturing.

I bet money that her slamming him down wasn't a conscious decision, and that it was motion fueled entirely by unthinking anger, just like if she had slammed a door or kicked a wall. Anger is housed in the most primitive part of our brain and sometimes that part just takes over, especially if our upper brains are busy thinking about other things. Unfortunately, it just happened to be the little baby she was holding. You can tell by looking at her face that she is in total shock and disbelief over what she did. Most of these babybeaters have that smug look "how did I get caught? Oh right, I killed a baby" but she looks more like she's going to pass out or start vomiting.

I hate cases like this. I don't think she's a bad person, I think she just flipped out in a moment of extremely regrettable anger. And now so many lives are ruined. That poor little boy and his twin, and their parents, and Calusinski is looking at years in jail.

I'll say one other thing, after working as a daycare teacher I would never send my kids to one. They people are paid barely over minium, they turnover is horrible, and with 4 infants to 1 caregiver it's hard to find quality time with all of them.

[runecire]

sTUPID, STUPID, STUPID BITCH. I HATED HER WHEN I FIRST READ IT, AND I HATE HER STILL.:argh:

[Marv]

In his last moments of life, 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan picked up his blanket and crawled to a bouncy chair police later said was his "comfort zone."

The child's family postponed funeral services set for Saturday after Lake County Coroner Richard Keller found a blow to the head had fractured Benjamin's skull and caused internal bleeding. The wound caused slow swelling that allowed the child time to crawl to his chair.

It "was his comfort zone, his little bouncy chair," Lincolnshire Detective Adam Hyde said.

Dear God, that is heartbreaking. That poor baby, thrown to the floor by an angry hag, badly injured, confused and in pain. And all he can do is grab his blankie and crawl to his bouncy chair to try and find some comfort.

RIP little Benjamin, bless your heart. xx You should have been safe there, not thrown to the floor in a fit of anger and left to self comfort while you died.

This bitch needs to die.

[Wicked Doll]

I could see her getting off with temporary insanity.

Temporary insanity is not the same as having a nasty temper and throwing a baby to it's death as a result. Oh no, no judge in their right mind is going to buy a temporary insanity plea from this bitch.

[PoongyPrincess]

Temporary insanity is not the same as having a nasty temper and throwing a baby to it's death as a result. Oh no, no judge in their right mind is going to buy a temporary insanity plea from this bitch.

Hmm you're probably right. See, I'd always understood TI to be when someone just flips out without thinking and ends up hurting someone without meaning to. According to this article, the TI defense is hardly ever used anymore because most juries have found that people pleading TI can still tell right from wrong. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-temporary-insanity-plea.htm

[sherrz]

In his last moments of life, 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan picked up his blanket and crawled to a bouncy chair police later said was his "comfort zone."

FUCKING BITCH... I don't care if she was "at the end of her rope." When you're at the end of your rope, you ask for someone to fill in for you, you walk away and take a breather. This little boy needs justice, and I hope she rots for what she did.

There's a saying that goes for work that I believe goes along the lines of "Leave your personal shit at the door and don't let it affect your job."

[seductress]

I'll say one other thing, after working as a daycare teacher I would never send my kids to one. They people are paid barely over minium, they turnover is horrible, and with 4 infants to 1 caregiver it's hard to find quality time with all of them.

My kids have been in daycare, we parents had access to the camera anytime we wanted. They had a web cam in the baby room. They no longer are at that center because we moved.
We've been on a waiting list for almost 2 years for a certain daycare in our area for summers and we are finally off the list, they are in. Mine are older now, but I think not all centers are bad and some teachers do this job because they love it, not because of the shitty pay. I think you have to use caution. I also stopped in whenever I so choose to see my kids. Some of us parents have no other option but daycare.

This center was bad all the way around, and this woman should be convicted of murder.

[Kalehue]

Hmm you're probably right. See, I'd always understood TI to be when someone just flips out without thinking and ends up hurting someone without meaning to. According to this article, the TI defense is hardly ever used anymore because most juries have found that people pleading TI can still tell right from wrong. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-temporary-insanity-plea.htm

What you're describing sounds more like a crime of passion to me -- like when someone walks in on their spouse in bed with another person and goes berserk.

We can't let people off the hook for having poor impulse control and anger management problems. People need to take responsibility for their actions.

[Pirelli Jones]

I don't mean to repost a link that Wicked Doll posted when it came out but I can't get the blog to take my comment, I think its fan-fucking-tastic that the owner of the daycare has been nabbed on 2 counts of felony obstruction for directing staff to lie about there being another caregiver in the room;

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-lincolnshire-day-care-chargemar31,0,6514904.story

[lucky]

That's so sad, the kid grabbed a blanket and crawled in a chair to die. This story fucks with me.


Me too, doesn't matter how many times I read it.

Poor little Benjamin xoxo, and his twin sister who is surely going to be affected by this forever. Just tragic.

[Wicked Doll]

I don't mean to repost a link that Wicked Doll posted when it came out but I can't get the blog to take my comment, I think its fan-fucking-tastic that the owner of the daycare has been nabbed on 2 counts of felony obstruction for directing staff to lie about there being another caregiver in the room;

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-lincolnshire-day-care-chargemar31,0,6514904.story


I'm out of thanks, but I agree. Benjamin's parents deserve to know what really happened to their precious child. That daycare owner's CYA was just plain greedy. I'm glad it's closed now.

Oh and FUCK YOU Melissa!

I really hope she does some serious time for her lack of being able to control her temper.

[Pirelli Jones]

Another update from Trailer Trash's case;

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=403755




A detective who interviewed Melissa Calusinski just hours after Benjamin Kingan died of a head injury testified Thursday Calusinski's body language was "deceptive" as she answered his questions.

Calusinski, 23, of Carpentersville, faces up to life in prison if convicted of killing the 16-month-old toddler at a former Lincolnshire day care center.

At a hearing of a defense motion to suppress Calusinski's confession to the crime, Lincolnshire Det. Adam Hyde said he was the first police officer to talk to Calusinski on the day of Benjamin's death on Jan. 14, 2009.

Hyde said Calusinski told him she was in a room at the Minee Subee in the Park day care center, which has since closed, with two other teacher's assistants, Benjamin and seven other children.
....

[Pirelli Jones]

Melissa back in court this week;

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/lincolnshire/news/2802384,lincolnshire-day-care-toddler-101410-s1.article



The video shows Calusinski being questioned by two officers with the Lake County Major Crime Task Force, Detective Sean Curran of the Highland Park Police Department and Investigator George Felenko of the Round Lake Park Police Department.

Calusinski outlined that on the day of the child's death she worked as a teacher's assistant at Minee-Subee Day Care Center. She and another employee took care of eight children, Benjamin included. She reported that there were no problems until “everything” started about 4 p.m.....
Calusinski's first story to police gave no indication how the boy died of blunt force trauma.
...
“I didn't see anything or do anything. I am swearing on my aunt's grave and on my uncle's grave that I didn't do anything to fracture his skull,” a sobbing Calusinski told officers.

Toward the end of the first two hours of the interview, Calusinski said her co-worker Nancy Kallinger was rough with the children and suggested officers speak with her.

Calusinski was not under arrest at this time, Curran said. She implicated herself in the murder later into the interview.

[crimsonsorrow]

Scheller says the boy's skull was fractured with force consistent with a drop from the top of a one- or two-story building.

good god what in the hell was she thinking?!

poor thing was dying right in front of everyone, in his bouncy chair, and no one knew....

and a twin? no no no this is horrible

[crimsonsorrow]

police said Calusinski told them she grew frustrated with the rowdiness of other children to the room and threw Benjamin to the ground as she was carrying him.


she wasn't even mad at him?! she used him has like a doll she threw in a tantrum?!

[Jerri Blank]

So many cases of children keep me up at night, some so unforgettable they will just jump into my head out of no where. This case just broke my heart and I was hugging my daughter tonight and she ran out of the room and got a blanket she loves and curled up on my lap and went to sleep. While she slept I started thinking about this little boy cause my daughter reminded me of how he got a blankie and went to his 'comfort zone'.

I looked up where this case is at and heres the latest I got, it's from Dec. 8, 2010

Interrogation recording shaping case in day care center death
Judge to determine which statements made to police can be used in worker's trial on murder charges

[...] Some of the footage from that video-recorded interrogation has been played in court to determine which of Calusinski's statements, if any, will be allowed at her trial on first-degree murder charges in the January 2009 death of 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan.

Calusinski eventually makes a statement implicating herself during the interrogation, according to court documents, but her lawyers are seeking to have her statements quashed, saying her confession was the result of "psychological and mental coercion."[...]

[...] Calusinski, of Carpentersville, is being held in lieu of a $5 million bond. The day care center was shut down by state authorities and its owner, Judith Katz, of Arlington Heights, is charged with obstructing the investigation into the boy's death.

Both sides are expected to reconvene Tuesday to continue viewing about two hours of footage and interview additional witnesses. [...]http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-12-08/news/ct-x-n-daycare-murder-case-20101208_1_melissa-calusinski-minee-subee-benjamin-kingan

don't know why I can't find more, it seems like this may be court now. maybe someone else here will have better luck than me finding out about this case.

I just hope this bitch fries in hell.

[Pirelli Jones]

http://newssun.suntimes.com/news/3472401-418/deluca-witness-attorneys-call-calusinski.html


The Carpentersville woman accused of murdering a 16-month-old toddler was allowed to call a new witness to clarify the time of events....Her attorneys, Paul DeLuca and Dan Cummings, are seeking to suppress statements she made to police and quash her arrest....The toddler later died of that blunt-force trauma. That timeframe has varied from 30 minutes to three hours to eight hours, DeLuca said.

“(Officers) went through a number of time frames. I think it’s critical,” DeLuca argued.

Judge Stride allowed defense attorneys to call the additional witness.

“We’re going to filter what’s relevant. If there’s something the defense feels they can impeach detectives on, for that limiting purpose you can call (the witness),” Stride said.

Assistant State’s Attorney Stephen Scheller argued against allowing another witness to be called in the ongoing hearing on the arrest and statements.

Due back in court on the motions to suppress statements 2/4/11, looks like they are exploring an argument that it happened earlier and she was only in the room when he passed to me.

[Jerri Blank]

good thing she already confessed and all else now is just reaching gibberish as far as I am feel about it, wonder if they create enough reasonable doubt she'll get out of facing justice..grrr she better not walk.
I think about this case all the time, it seriously messed up my head.

[Pirelli Jones]

This one really bothered me too. They are working to exclude her confession but the coverage has been sparse as they are dealing with one motion at a time, it sometimes seems. Her parents have appeared on the local news, recently but thinking now it's maybe before Christmas, on multiple stations working on image reform as the trial draws nearer. The last article I linked has her updated picture, it's actually becoming, you wouldn't know it's the same chick from the mugshot we've grown to abhor. I didn't see any point in sharing here :)

[ImmortalOne]

This one adds to my fear of child care businesses. I am so afraid that someone would hurt one of my little girls I would kill them. I am afraid that I will lose one of my girls to something so terrible. That little guys last actions make me want to cry. His comfort zone and his comfort blanket comforted him as he slipped on to the otherside when this fucking bitch took out her anger on an innocent. My baby is almost a year old, Dez is now 3 1/2. I cannot imagine doing something like this, or that someone else didn't see it.

I hope the bitch gets life and then someone throws her to the ground while she is in jail and kills her.

[Hellsbells]

Jury sees day care worker confession in toddler's slaying


WAUKEGAN, Ill. (WLS) - Former Lincolnshire day care worker Melissa Calusinski tearfully told police she “got frustrated” and threw down a 16-month-old boy so violently his head bounced when it the floor.

“It got to a point where I got frustrated. I took it out on him and I shouldn’t have,” Calusinski said, her voice breaking during the videotaped questioning by police. “I put him down in a way I shouldn’t have.”

Benjamin Kingan died later on Jan. 14, 2009, of brain injuries Lake County authorities contend he suffered in the fall at the Minee Subee day care center in the north suburb.

Calusinski, who was caring for the Deerfield toddler, is being tried on first-degree murder charges for allegedly throwing the boy to the floor.

During a videotaped interview played Friday for jurors, Calusinski used a toy doll to demonstrate for Lincolnshire police detective Adam Hyde how she tossed the boy down from about waist height when he started fussing after eating a snack.

The back of Benjamin’s head struck a tile floor as he landed, she said during the Jan. 16, 2009, interview.

“I saw his head bounce,” Calusinski said, adding she wasn’t angry with Benjamin but grew flustered when he and several other children in the room began crying and fidgeting.

“It was just driving me nuts,” Calusinski said on the tape, telling Hyde at one point that she overreacted because she was tired.

“I wasn’t feeling good much that day,” she said.

http://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=2327670&spid=

http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff519/hellsbells42/309084040-10193231.jpg

[princessgrandma]

She wasn't feeling good that day.

Bitch. Look at that little face. How could someone harm him?

[Jerri Blank]

Day care worker guilty of murder in toddler's death
Melissa Calusinski, 25, breaks down in tears after jury verdict is read


Melissa Calusinski was found guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday in the 2009 death of a Deerfield boy at the day care center where she worked.

Calusinski, 25, who now faces a possible life sentence, broke down into sobs as she was led out of the courtroom in Lake County following the verdict. Her mother, sobbing heavily, collapsed into the arms of Calusinski's father, while two of the jurors also clutched hands and wept as the group shuffled out of the courtroom.

The parents of Benjamin Kingan, the 16-month-old who died on Jan. 14, 2009, after falling ill at Minee Subee in the Park day care center in Lincolnshire, were more subdued in their reaction. The boy's father, Andy Kingan, nodded his head slightly and cried softly.

The jury also found Calusinski, of Carpentersville, guilty of aggravated battery to a child. The announcement came after about seven hours of deliberations by the jury of eight women and four men.

Calusinski's father, Paul, vowed to appeal the verdict. He said he and his wife, Cheryl, who was crying and shaking as they left the Waukegan courthouse, had visited their daughter in jail earlier that day.

"She was calm until what happened here," Paul Calusinski told the Tribune. He also accused law-enforcement officials of distorting facts about a phone call that took place between him and his daughter just after she was interrogated for several hours by police.

Calusinski, a Barrington High School graduate, had been in jail since her arrest two days after Benjamin's death and following her statement to police that she intentionally slammed Benjamin's head to the ground out of frustration.

Calusinski's confession following a 10-hour interrogation, which was videotaped and played for the jury last week, had a central role in the two-week trial. Over the course of the interrogation — conducted without an attorney present, apparently because Calusinski never asked for one — Calusinski at first denied she had anything to do with the boy's death.

Several hours into the police's questions, Calusinski then offered that the boy might have struck his head against a chair as she was lifting him and lost her grip. Eventually, investigators from the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force asked if she got frustrated and intentionally slammed Benjamin's head to the tile floor, and she agreed that was true.

Her lawyers had said her confession was coerced — in part because of her low IQ — and that the boy had an existing injury in his brain that caused his death.

Medical experts who testified at the trial gave conflicting testimony of whether bleeding found in the boy's brain was from a pre-existing injury. Benjamin had been prone to throwing himself back and hitting his head during tantrums.

But jurors apparently believed prosecutors.

"We know that Benjamin was a healthy, happy toddler. This was not a neurologically impaired child," juror Christen Bishop said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-day-care-trial-1117-20111117,0,3136356.story

This story has haunted me ever since we first heard about it. I can see this sweet little guy in my head and just want to cry :-(

[Shanduh]

This story was one of my first experiences on Dreamindemon. I was so moved by it that I donated money to the Wings program, which Ben's mother works for. I believe this woman, Melissa was put into a rather difficult position (she SHOULD have had more help in the classroom) but her actions have made it clear: she will be punished and she will NEVER be able to hurt another child again.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20111116/news/711169682/

A Lake County jury deliberated for about seven hours Wednesday before finding Melissa Calusinski guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated battery to a child after a two-week trial.

Calusinski, 25, faces up to life in prison when she is sentenced sometime early next year in the Jan. 14, 2009, death of 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan of Deerfield.

Calusinski was a teacher’s aide at the former Minee Subee in the Park day care center in Lincolnshire that Benjamin attended with his twin sister, Emily.

Police said she was alone in the classroom with Benjamin and seven other toddlers when she hurled Benjamin to the floor.

In two videotaped statements to police that were played for the jury, Calusinski says Benjamin was fussing as she carried him across the room, the other children present were causing a commotion and she became overwhelmed and frustrated.

Assistant State’s Attorney Christen Bishop urged the jurors to convict Calusinski of murder and to reject the defense theory that Benjamin had an undetected existing head injury that he aggravated by pounding his own head on the floor.

“This is not an accident, this is not reckless, this is not a bump on the head and this is not Benjamin throwing himself backwards,” Bishop said. “Benjamin Kingan was not a ticking time bomb who exploded on her watch.”

[spinst]

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20111116/news/711169682/


A Lake County jury deliberated for about seven hours Wednesday before finding Melissa Calusinski guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated battery to a child after a two-week trial.

Calusinski, 25, faces up to life in prison when she is sentenced sometime early next year in the Jan. 14, 2009, death of 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan of Deerfield.

The conviction on the most serious charges came in spite of a last-minute move by Calusinski's defense team that persuaded Lake County Circuit Judge Daniel Shanes to allow the jurors to consider two lesser offenses.

Shanes agreed to tell the eight women and four men on the jury they could convict Calusinski of involuntary manslaughter or reckless conduct in the event they did not believe she was guilty of murder or aggravated battery.

The consequences could have been significant for the Carpentersville woman, who could have been sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter, while reckless conduct in this case would have been punishable by up to three years in prison.

Benjamin's parents were in the courtroom when the verdicts were read but left without comment.

“We will appeal everything,” defense attorney Paul DeLuca said upon leaving the courtroom. “Melissa is devastated, just devastated, and I think the combination of a child's death and a confession were too much to overcome.”

Calusinski was a teacher's aide at the former Minee Subee in the Park day care center in Lincolnshire that Benjamin attended with his twin sister, Emily.

Police said she was alone in the classroom with Benjamin and seven other toddlers when she hurled Benjamin to the floor.

In two videotaped statements to police that were played for the jury, Calusinski says Benjamin was fussing as she carried him across the room, the other children present were causing a commotion and she became overwhelmed and frustrated.

Assistant State's Attorney Christen Bishop urged the jurors to convict Calusinski of murder and to reject the defense theory that Benjamin had an undetected existing head injury that he aggravated by pounding his own head on the floor.

“This is not an accident, this is not reckless, this is not a bump on the head and this is not Benjamin throwing himself backwards,” Bishop said. “Benjamin Kingan was not a ticking time bomb who exploded on her watch.”

Bishop and the other prosecutors called several physicians to testify during the trial who said Benjamin was a normal healthy toddler until the day that he died.

Dr. Eupil Choi, who performed the autopsy on Benjamin, testified that the boy hit the floor with a force equal to that of a fall from a two-story building.

Calusinski's defense had doctors as well who said Choi's autopsy was flawed in several ways and that he failed to detect numerous signs of the previous injury.

Attorney Paul DeLuca suggested the injury may have been inflicted the October before Benjamin died, when the staff at Minee Subee sawith a bump on the back of his head just before a regularly scheduled doctor visit.

“Two days later, he is in the doctor's office and there wasn't a CT Scan, there wasn't an MRI,” DeLuca said. “Maybe it would have detected something, but we will never know.”

DeLuca also asked jurors to disregard his client's admissions to police, saying they were the result of professional interrogators who exploited Calusinski's low IQ and inexperience in dealing with police.

“These guys are good, they are pros,” DeLuca said. “By the time they were done with her, Melissa Calusinski thought she was going home; that is how messed up she was.”

[Jerri Blank]

Melissa Calusinski, Daycare Provider Convicted Of Killing Toddler, Says Confession Was Coerced

A Carpentersville woman recently convicted of killing a toddler at a Lincolnshire day care center is seeking a retrial, arguing that the confession that solidified the case against her was false and coerced.

Melissa Calusinski, 25, was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated battery on Nov. 16 in the Jan. 14, 2009 death of Benjamin Kingan, a 16-month-old from Deerfield who was in her care at Minee Subee, a childcare facility in the Park center in Lincolnshire. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 23, and the Chicago Sun-Times reports that she could face a life sentence.

But Calusinski's attorneys say that the trial that convicted her was rife with errors, and cited 34 specific incidents in a request for a retrial they submitted to Lake County Circuit Judge Daniel Shanes Monday, according to the Daily Herald. Their request hinges in part on a recent appellate court ruling that reversed murder and sexual assault charges against Juan Rivera. Rivera was convicted by the same court system and served nearly 20 years in prison based on a disputed confession, in spite of DNA evidence that excluded him from the crime scene.

Defense attorneys contested Calusinski's videotaped confession even in pre-trial proceedings, alleging it was a product of "psychological and mental coercion," according to Fox Chicago. The teacher's aide's father, Paul Calusinski, told Fox his daughter confessed only after "she couldn't take no more and she wanted out of that room."

Calusinski's defense team claims there are six facts cited by medical professionals who examined Kingan and testified in her trial that contradict details in her confessions, evidence that her admissions to throwing the toddler and causing the injuries that led to his death are false, the Daily Herald reports. Paul Calusinski has consistently refuted a police officer's claim that his daughter said "Daddy, I did it," while on the phone with him shortly after her arrest, a key component in the prosecution's case.

Calusinski's parents maintain her innocence and set up a website (http://melissacalusinski.com/) that tells her side of the story, and solicits donations to help fund her defense.

The retrial motion will be heard in court during her scheduled sentencing hearing in February, according to the Tribune.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/melissa-calusinski-daycar_n_1183595.html

[Whisper]

Former day care worker gets 31 years for killing Deerfield toddler

Calling it a tragic case of "needless, senseless violence," a Lake County judge Thursday sentenced a former day care worker to 31 years in prison for killing a Deerfield toddler in her care.
[...]
But according to trial testimony, Calusinski 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.

Before Circuit Court Judge Daniel Shanes sentenced Calusinski, Benjamin Kingan's mother, Amy, read a statement that drew 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," she 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.

Calusinski told the toddler's parents 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."

"Melissa is innocent," defense lawyer Paul DeLuca said outside court. "This is only the top of the third inning. We've got a great appellate team," led by high-profile attorney Kathleen Zellner.

"I'm telling you, my daughter was coerced into a confession," added her father, Paul Calusinski. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-daycare-death-sentence-0224-20120224,0,7479051.story

[Dakota Valkyrie]

http://i0.simplest-image-hosting.net/picture/20120416-04.jpg (http://simplest-image-hosting.net/jpg-0-20120416-04)
The owner of a day care center where a boy was murdered in 2009 died Sunday, the day before she was to stand trial on obstruction of justice charges today.

Judith Katz's attorney, Jack Carriglio, confirmed her death. He would not elaborate how Katz died, though he had said in court that she had been ill with cancer. She was 67.

Katz, in a wheelchair and with a nurse on hand, had just appeared in a Lake County courtroom on Friday for a final pretrial appearance. Her lawyer lost an 11th-hour bid to have the charges against her dismissed.

Katz, who lived in Arlington Heights, was the owner of the former Minee Subee in the Park day care center in Lincolnshire when a toddler from Deerfield suffered a skull fracture there and died. Katz was accused of lying when she allegedly told parents and employees that two staff members were in the room when the boy, Benjamin Kingan, was injured. Authorities said there was only one staff member present, in violation of state rules.

Melissa Calusinski, a former worker at the day care center, was convicted last year 2011 of first-degree murder in Benjamin’s death and was sentenced to 31 years in prison. Authorities said she confessed to slamming the child’s head to the ground in frustration.
[...]

Had Katz been convicted, she could have faced up to three years in prison.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-owner-of-day-care-where-toddler-killed-dies-day-before-trial-20120415,0,206479.story

[Tundratot]

Katz' face looks like she used orange peel for a foundation. Yeow!

[biteme]

Sure as hell not the first coerced confession, I don't usually agree with the defense lawyer
But those asshole cops sure do know how to fuck people over, they want a notch on their belt as bad as some DA's
and don't really give a dam if your innocent or guilty, just put another gold star in my file
and people wonder why an innocent person would lawyer up