Melissa Calhoun, Forever 2½; 13-year-old babysitter charged

[Silvahalo]

I get what you're saying but think you just haven't met a capable 13-year-old (there are some). Just like you would judge an adult sitter, you would judge a young teen sitter and "use" those abilities as you judged proper. Personally, I liked sitters to be 14-16 years old. In fact, the only sitters I ever had problems with were 17+. Go figure. I have had sitters as young as 12 but rarely had need for a true "overnight" sitter. That's what family was for.

I can think of one 13 yo, my SIL's son who has alway been fantastic with the boys. He's smart and caring and very good with his own younger brother. He's one I might consider.
He truly is a great kid, but still I don't think I'd do it. I will admit I have a hard time trusting just about anyone with my kids not just a teenager. Reading on dd sure doesn't help that.

[Silvahalo]

No, I know what you mean in relation to YOUR children. I'm just saying that, when it comes to the overall picture, children who are incapable tend to be the result of over-parenting rather than under-parenting. Children who are under-parented often make mistakes but are, in general, more self-reliant than those who are used to having everything done for them.

Aw, cannot agree more. I'm an example of that. Unfortunately some of my siblings under the same care didn't fair so well.

[redsaid]

May I respectfull say, is there any way it's safer to leave the child with a trusted adult? (although we all know sometimes it's not) If it's an on the fly (work, etc.) thing, one might have to settle on a teen, but if it's planned event, why not an adult? There's a lot of these stories about teen babysitting lately, and I got sucked into the debate too. But I never thought the alternative adult sitter option till now. There may be a problem if there is only a teen option, if the family doesn't know a worthy adult. What about leaving the child with the teens parents? If you can't trust them, I probably wouldn't trust their child...

[Dakota Valkyrie]

May I respectfull say, is there any way it's safer to leave the child with a trusted adult? (although we all know sometimes it's not) If it's an on the fly (work, etc.) thing, one might have to settle on a teen, but if it's planned event, why not an adult? There's a lot of these stories about teen babysitting lately, and I got sucked into the debate too. But I never thought the alternative adult sitter option till now. There may be a problem if there is only a teen option, if the family doesn't know a worthy adult. What about leaving the child with the teens parents? If you can't trust them, I probably wouldn't trust their child...

Most adults do not want to babysit. The best arrangement like that is probably "trading" with another parent or using a family member, if available.

It was always hard to get a teen sitter that I liked and never on short notice. You have to "reserve" the good ones and pay big bucks to keep them. As they get older, they get "lives" and real jobs and are less available.

[Whisper]

I was lucky my mom wouldn't let anyone else watch my kids
She worked and watched them a I went to school at night
Hubby had them after work/school while I was working or in school
Its took scheduling but I was lucky we could do it
Had his 14 yr old sister babysit 1 TIME never again
Came home at 10 pm Heaven was in crib with no crib sheets or blankets or pjs and it was winter
I had made the crib up but she dirtied them and I had left clean bedding out just in case
And she hadn't fed her the jars of food we had left for her to eat

[Silvahalo]

Police say evidence indicates the child was alive at 1:00 a.m. when the mother arrived home and checked on her.

So i'm confused. Mom returns at 1am checks on baby, but does she then leave? if baby was killed sometime afterward, surely if she was there she would have heard something happening.

So this boy was sitting not only for the 2 yo but a younger sibling too.

The police say Alec Champagne, an eighth grader in the Whitesboro School District, was baby-sitting the 2-year-old female victim and her 1 1/2-year-old sister in their home when he beat the victim and struck her in the head repeatedly

I'm also wondering if this boy had any history of violence, questionable behavior. I haven't read anything on his family saying a thing on him. He's been charged with second degree murder due to his age 1st degree isn't an option. I expect we will be hearing on his mother or family soon.

This is the only photo I could find that is most current of baby Melissa. She was a precious, innocent child. My heart goes out to her and those who loved her. Mom, sister and brother who will never know the wonder she would have grown into.
So sorry baby girl, you deserved life and all that it might have given you. Treasured always in the heavens....





VIDEO HERE.

[Aslan]

I think that perhaps we can all agree that leaving a 13 yr old girl with her would probably mean she wouldn't have been SEXUALLY ASSAULTED before she had her head bashed in.
I can't demonize the mom, she trusted the son of a friend.
I'm sure, if anything, she is in her own private hell right now.

I'll tell you this, I would never consider a boy babysitter.
Hell, (and I've related this before) when a friend of mine was watching my dog while I was out of town I made him email me pictures as 'proof of life' twice daily. I would call him just to hear my pup bark.

I babysat around the neighborhood when I was 13 and the funds were good for silly teenage stuff, I always knew my mom was right down the street and (raising 5 of us) she always was a call away and knew what to tell me to calm them down and get them back to sleep.
I need to send her a note and thank her for that.

[koochie]

poor baby girl..i cannot imagine how horrific the end of her life must have been. Graham, my baby, is almost 2 and the thought of how sweet and innocent, all he ever does is make me smile.

To think what this baby girl suffered at the hands of this evil little fucker makes my blood boil.

I truly hope they throw him in jail to rot the rest of his life away. I dont believe you can rehabiliate someone that can inflict such evil on an innocent baby.

Rest in Peace angel, Melissa

[donegaveup]

Melissa was a beauty with her liquid blue eyes. Not an especially good time lately for little ones with the last name Calhoun.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

So i'm confused. Mom returns at 1am checks on baby, but does she then leave? if baby was killed sometime afterward, surely if she was there she would have heard something happening.

This article should clear it up. The others were not as specific.

Lincoln said the mother, Irene Calhoun, arrived home around 1 a.m., checked on Melissa, thought she was OK and went to sleep. The mother called 911 shortly before 9 a.m. when she discovered the toddler was unresponsive, Lincoln said.

An autopsy determined the cause of death was internal bleeding from an injury to the back of her head.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...itter_Charged/

Now we are left with the question of when it happened. Was she injured when mom checked on her and mom failed to notice? Did it happen alater, such as after Melissa woke in the morning, while mom was asleep? No time of death has been released yet (that I found).

[Silvahalo]

Thanks for the info DV. I gotta wonder how is it mom didn't hear a thing? He was beating baby girl, threw her against the fridge...I mean really beat her AND raped her. SO, I'm thinking he did so before mom got home.

Too bad mom didn't notice a thing wrong with baby, IF she was in fact already injured. She likely peeked in from the door and saw that baby was sleeping, at least appeared to be sleeping.

An article indicates that this boy had been entrusted to watch Melissa before. I will say this, having babysat before without incident, mother probably thought he was trustworthy. A child capable of doing such a heinous act, I would think had other behavior issues going on. I would really like to read more on this Alec Champagne. This baby killer, rapist.

[Ninja0980]

Sadly, under New York State law, even if he's convicted, he will be eligable for parole in 9 years..and every two years after that. I highly doubt he will ever get out,nor should he...but the fact the family will keep having to come back for parole hearings sickens me.

[redsaid]

" I would really like to read more on this Alec Champagne. This baby killer, rapist. "
And soooo young. tsk tsk.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

When Irene Calhoun returned to her Yorkville home at about 1 a.m. Saturday, her 2-year-old daughter looked to be sound asleep after being watched by a teenage babysitter for several hours, state police said Monday.

The mother of three saw no sign of the alleged assault and sexual attack that had been unleashed earlier that night against the toddler, Melissa Calhoun, and no reason to believe that she would later find Melissa dead shortly before 9 a.m. that morning, state police Capt. Mark Lincoln said during a news conference at state police Troop D headquarters in Oneida.
[...]

While neither state police nor prosecutors have revealed what might have prompted Champagne’s alleged attack against the girl, a state police arrest report reveals the level of brutality that was brought upon Melissa in the last hours of her life.

Champagne allegedly struck her in the face with his hand, then shoved her until her head forcefully slammed against the floor, according to the felony complaint. Melissa also was hit with the door of a refrigerator, which caused her to strike her head on a nearby table, and she was allowed to fall while standing on a bed so that her head would strike a nearby piece of furniture, the report continues.

And at some point, either before, during or after the attack, Champagne sexually assaulted Melissa while her 1½-year-old sibling also was inside the home, the report stated. A 5-year-old sibling was not home at the time, police said.

An autopsy conducted over the weekend determined Melissa died from blunt force trauma to her head, but it remains unclear what injury caused her death and what time she actually died. State police said the young girl might still have been breathing when her mother checked on her in the middle of the night.

“The child could have been alive and injured, and passed away sometime after the mother arrived,” Lincoln said.
[...]

Second-degree murder is the only crime that a 13-year-old juvenile can be prosecuted with in criminal court in New York, McNamara said. This allows Champagne to be prosecuted in Oneida County criminal court if he is indicted, instead of Family Court.

Prosecutors have 45 days to seek an indictment from the grand jury.

If the case goes to trial and he’s convicted, the maximum punishment Champagne could face is 9 years to life in a juvenile detention facility and then a prison, while the minimum is 5 years to life, McNamara said.

Champagne initially was charged with second-degree manslaughter, but the charge was upgraded to a more serious murder charge once autopsy results became available and after prosecutors further discussed the case with state police, McNamara said.

Second-degree murder is the most common murder charge brought against defendants in New York state, and covers both intentional killings and deaths caused by depraved indifference, First Assistant District Attorney Michael Coluzza said.

According to the depraved indifference murder charge that Champagne faces, he also is accused of failing to seek medical attention for Melissa after the alleged assault.
[...]

As Champagne appeared in court Monday, his family members shed their own tears at the thought of what the young boy is accused of doing and that he might spend the rest of his life incarcerated, Bach said. As for Champagne himself, Bach said he didn’t have enough time to judge whether the boy felt scared or saddened by what had happened.

Bach was not yet ready to speak about the allegations because he hadn’t had a chance to discuss the case with Champagne, but he plans on visiting the teen at the facility sometime this week, he said.
[...]

http://www.uticaod.com/news/x1353756...e-childs-death

[Ninja0980]

Sadly, even though he will get convicted IMO, nine years from now... and every two years after that, he will get a parole hearing. I pray he is never let out again.

[Silvahalo]

During the news conference, Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara would not discuss any details of what happened to Melissa, but said his decision to charge a boy who had just begun his teenage years with a crime that could carry a punishment of up to life in prison was an easy choice to make.

“I guess it depends on which way you look at it,” McNamara said. “In the eyes of a 2½-year-old looking up to a 13-year-old, it’s not that hard. She deserves justice.

What has been released is brutal enough. I imagine the details on what happened to Melissa are shocking and utterly devastating. The DA in the video you can see on his face how heavy this weighs on him, the subject matter so grim, so despairing.

As for this baby killer, what I think should be done to him. Well, it's VERY hard for me to read on a child taking another childs life, a baby in this case. Lets just say I would not be selected for jury duty. I don't want to ever set eyes on this boy again. Makes me ill. Children killing babies, simply sickens me.

State police said the young girl might still have been breathing when her mother checked on her in the middle of the night.

The mother will never forgive herself for not noticing baby was injured. I tend to go in and repostion baby's blankie, and kiss his check. NOT saying this is what mother should have done, just wonder even with that, would she have noticed something wrong, in the dark, perhaps not. Still, we will never know if baby might have been saved under different circumstances. Ultimately, baby Melissa would have been alive and well had this sick fuck never touched her. Instead Melissa is dead and will be buried in the cold earth on Friday.

Funeral services:
Friends and relatives may attend calling hours for 2-year-old Melissa Calhoun from 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Kowalczyk Funeral Home, 284 Main St., in New York Mills.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home, with burial to follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Clinton.

Rest in peace littlest Melissa.

[Etoile]

This conversation is making me feel old, and I'm not old. I'll be 30 in six months, which I consider pretty young. And yet I was babysitting at 11 or 12, I was running around the neighborhood "till the lights came on" like Athena said, and I lived in a medium-sized suburban town (about 80,000 at the time). Once, when I was babysitting - I would guess I was 13-14 when it happened? - I dropped the girl and her head slammed on the stone floor. She was maybe four, and I have never ever forgotten it. But the girl? She cried for a few minutes, and then watched The Little Mermaid and drank her juice.

I thought of that when I started reading this thread. The situation I was in could very easily have been the same as this situation. (Then I read further and saw that it was deliberate, but at first it wasn't known.) So in theory, I could've been charged with assault, harm, manslaughter (if she had died), abuse, or any number of things.

I wasn't. She hit her head, went boom, and life went on. I think it's a product of the times. I think these days all of the concern people are expressing is partly just paranoia. Now, most stories on the D'D are HORRIFIC tales of abuse, not just a big bump on the head. But the conversation in this thread makes me feel that a change has happened since I was babysitting. These days, what I did would get discussed on a forum, if anybody knew. Back then, oops, bump, life went on.

Am I making any sense here? The point I really want to make is that despite all my nostalgia, I'm not old. I'm not even 30. I was babysitting less than 20 years ago. I just feel like it has all changed so much in a short time.

[redsaid]

Instead Melissa is dead and will be buried in the cold earth on Friday.

Oh Silva, you totally got me.


May the Mother Earth welcome her, embrace her, and become one with her. Rest comfy little girl.

[Tundratot]

I dropped the girl and her head slammed on the stone floor. She was maybe four, and I have never ever forgotten it. But the girl? She cried for a few minutes, and then watched The Little Mermaid and drank her juice.

Well, I'm considerably older than you, Etoile. I never dropped a child on the pavement, but I hit my own head on the pavement as a child a few times. I'm still alive -- and despite what people might think -- far from brain damaged. I had a few goose eggs on my head. My kids also had a few, my eldest more than a few.

What I think you must take from your experience is that the degree of force applied to the children you read about here was far greater than any normal "fall" (off a bed, on a couch, in a tub, against a table) or even a drop (from or in arms) might have generated. Doctors and paramedics see the results of normal falls all the time. And they see the results of car accidents fairly often, too. So, when they say a head injury doesn't fit the story that someone gives, believe it.

And, of course, you learned something from the experience at the time, too. How to better hold a child, perhaps, or whether to struggle with a wiggler. How to treat the injury (ice on the developing lump, perhaps). Perhaps if her bell had been rung, you would have called the parents to get advice or their immediate return. Acting like an accident didn't happen is not the best approach. Schools always send home injury reports and/or call when one of mine gets a lump or scrape. I don't go off on them.

This kid didn't accidentally drop the toddler, and she didn't fall off a bed. She was pushed and smashed against the floor or the fridge or the wall with a great deal of force and weight behind it. Perhaps hit with something. And, he evidently didn't report it to mom, either. I guarantee she'd have looked more closely when she got in, if it had been reported and it had happened before she returned for the night.

[Whisper]

Last Update: 10:57 am
Teen who allegedly murdered a toddler to appear in court
Oneida County (WSYR-TV) - An Oneida County 13-year-old accused of killing a toddler he was babysitting is due in court today.

Alec Champagne, an eighth-grader in the Whitesboro School District, has been charged with murdering a 2-year-old at a Yorkville home. Police say the boy slammed the toddler's head against a refrigerator door and dresser. They also say he sexually assaulted the child but there is no law that allows them to charge someone so young with sexual abuse.

Champagne is currently being tried as a juvenile. If convicted, he could face anywhere from five years to life in prison.

http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/stor...Q.cspx?rss=112

[Nell]

Champagne allegedly struck her in the face with his hand, then shoved her until her head forcefully slammed against the floor, according to the felony complaint. Melissa also was hit with the door of a refrigerator, which caused her to strike her head on a nearby table, and she was allowed to fall while standing on a bed so that her head would strike a nearby piece of furniture, the report continues.

And at some point, either before, during or after the attack, Champagne sexually assaulted Melissa while her 1½-year-old sibling also was inside the home, the report stated. A 5-year-old sibling was not home at the time, police said.

Crying. I can see this. I can see it all in my head because Serendipity is almost 2. Sometimes the stories on here just kill me. I can see the pain and disbelief on her face as he pushes her. Slams her. I can see her crying with her arms stretched up to be hugged as he lets her fall again and hits her head. I can see it all. I can see her sibling crying and confused as a witness to this and i want to kill him. I really do.

Her pain and fear. Crying until she drifts off thinking of mom and dies alone. Fuck me.

[Whisper]

State Police: Toddler was annoying 13 year old babysitter and "rage took over"
FLOYD, N.Y. (WKTV)
A Floyd Town Justice has ruled there is enough evidence to hold a 13 year old Whitesboro boy on second-degree murder charges.
Floyd Town Justice Christopher Clarkin made that ruling around 4:40 p.m. On Friday afternoon at a preliminary felony hearing for 13 year old Alex Champagne. Champagne has been charged by Oneida County prosecutors with second-degree murder. Prosecutors say Champagne murdered two year old Melissa Calhoun while he was babysitting her in her Yorkville home the night of Friday, June 18.

One week later, on Friday afternoon, Oneida County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Coluzza questioned New York State Police Investigator Chad Tangorra for over an hour during the preliminary felony hearing. Tangorra was the investigator who questioned Champagne for four hours on Saturday, after finding the lifeless body of Melissa Calhoun Saturday Morning in an upstairs bedroom in the family's home on Ney Avenue in Yorkville.

Investigator Tangorra testified Friday what the 13 year old Champagne told him, both in writing and orally, which was captured on video at the Marcy State Police barracks Saturday afternoon.

Tangorra says Champagne told them that he got irritated that two year old Melissa wanted to play in the living room and he didn't, so he "popped her in the mouth," and "rage took over."

Police say that after slapping her, Champagne said he shoved Melissa, causing her to hit her head on the floor. Tangorra says Champagne told them he also hit the little girl in the kitchen with the refrigerator door, causing her to fall and hit her head, this time on the kitchen table.

Also, when the two were playing upstairs on Melissa'a mother's bed, Tangorra says Champagne told them she was holding what he described as his "wife beater," his white sleeveless tank top, but he intentionally moved back, causing her to lose her grip and thus fall again, this time hitting her head on a stand.

Finally, Tangorra said Champagne admitted he sexually assaulted Melissa with his finger 15 times, causing her to bleed.

Champagne's attorney Richard Bach questioned Investigator Tangorra as to why Alec nor his mother, who was at the barracks, were told the interview was going to recorded on video.

Despite that, in the end, Floyd Town Justice Christopher Clarkin ruled there was enough evidence to hold 13 year old Alec Champagne on second-degree murder.

An Oneida County grand jury will now hear the case within the next 30 days and decide whether to indict him on that charge.

If indicted, he will be tried in Oneida County criminal court, not family court.

The parents of Melissa Calhoun were not in court Friday. A family friend said me it was too much for them to be there.


[...]

http://www.wktv.com/news/local/97186309.html

Alex Champagne

[Dakota Valkyrie]

[...]
The 13-year-old Whitesboro eighth-grader, however, eventually would admit to battering and sexually assaulting Melissa Calhoun, whom he referred to as “conniving,” in her Yorkville home, according to state police testimony at a felony hearing Friday.
[...]

Following the discovery, Champagne and his mother followed investigators to the state police barracks in Marcy, where his mother agreed to let her son talk to police while she waited outside, Tangorra testified Friday.


The interview would last just more than four hours.


During cross examination, Bach suggested Champagne’s mother did not understand the purpose of the interview and thought that investigators were offering emotional counseling to the teen.
[...]


Melissa was found on the floor of her mother’s bedroom wearing pajamas. Blood was pooled under her eyelid, foam in her mouth and her face was bruised.
[...]


Melissa died of blunt force trauma to her head, and there was bleeding in her brain, autopsy results showed. The time of death is not known, although police said Champagne told them he was asleep on the couch from midnight to 8:15 a.m. and that she was still alive the last time he saw her.
[...]

http://www.uticaod.com/features/x160...ve-killed-girl
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBuwWVAJKdg&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube- Baby sitter homicide: Alec Champagne felony hearing[/ame]

[Etoile]

How horrible...this is emerging as far worse than initially stated. Less of an "oops I dropped the baby" and more of an "I used the baby as a ragdoll."

What kind of 13 year old uses the word conniving?

[redsaid]

How horrible...this is emerging as far worse than initially stated. Less of an "oops I dropped the baby" and more of an "I used the baby as a ragdoll."

What kind of 13 year old uses the word conniving?

One that is "conniving".

[Silvahalo]

Time of death is still undetermined, but I'm now confused. He says he was asleep from about midnight to 8:15a.

The time of death is not known, although police said Champagne told them he was asleep on the couch from midnight to 8:15 a.m. and that she was still alive the last time he saw her.

Based on this Melissa was probably still alive when mother checked on her.
But still, I'm confused. When was baby found this way?

Melissa was found on the floor of her mother’s bedroom wearing pajamas. Blood was pooled under her eyelid, foam in her mouth and her face was bruised.

From what I understand mother checked on baby around midnight, and appeared to be sleeping. SO when was Melissa found on the floor of her mother's room? When police arrived?

What a "conniving" asshole, baby killer.

[Tundratot]

From what I understand mother checked on baby around midnight, and appeared to be sleeping. SO when was Melissa found on the floor of her mother's room? When police arrived?

If the original article is to be believed, she was discovered dead at around 9:00 am. That she was found in her mother's bedroom leads me to believe she was indeed alive when the monster went to sleep and when the mother looked in on her. Then, she must have woke in the night and gone to her mother's room seeking comfort and succor. Did she then curl up on the floor to sleep and ultimately to die? Was sleeping on the floor a normal behavior? Could she not get herself up on the bed? Did she pass out on her way? Did her mother not hear her cries?

[Ninja0980]

http://www.romesentinel.com/news?newsid=20100621-141324

There were two teens who committed murders in Oneida County in 2008, one of whom was 13 and was also charged as an adult initially.
Something tells me Alex isn't going to get the same outcome these two did though.

[redsaid]

http://www.romesentinel.com/news?newsid=20100621-141324

There were two teens who committed murders in Oneida County in 2008, one of whom was 13 and was also charged as an adult initially.
Something tells me Alex isn't going to get the same outcome these two did though.

Yeah, I think whet he did was worse....

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A 14-year-old Whitesboro eighth-grader pleaded not guilty Friday to beating a 2-year-old girl to death while babysitting her in Yorkville last month.
[...]

Champagne, who just recently turned 14, is being prosecuted as a juvenile offender since he was 13 at the time that Melissa was killed.

Champagne is due to appear again in front of Judge Barry M. Donalty on Friday, Aug. 6, to report on whether he wants to accept a plea offer or take his case to trial.
[...]

Champagne, who has shaved off his hair and facial hair since he last appeared in court, is currently being held at a juvenile detention facility.
[...]

If the case goes to trial and Champagne is convicted, the maximum punishment the teen could face is nine years to life in a juvenile detention facility and then a state prison. The minimum is five years to life.

http://www.uticaod.com/features/x187...-killing-child