Calusinski's Bid For New Trial Will Wait Until March
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman's bid for a new trial in the 2009 death of a toddler under her care will have to wait at least a couple more months, as her attorneys respond to prosecutors' objections to her request.
Melissa Calusinski is serving 31 years in prison for murder in the death of 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan. Prosecutors have said she threw the boy to the floor at a Lincolnshire daycare in 2009.
Last year, her attorneys launched a bid for a new trial, citing newly found X-rays they say show the child suffered from a pre-existing injury when he died.
Last July, Lake County Coroner Thomas Rudd changed the official cause of Benjamin's death from "homicide" to "undetermined," saying those X-rays showed the boy suffered a head injury dating back to October 2008.
"These were unknown to the defense prior to the trial, and during the trial," Rudd said at the time.
Calusinski maintained her innocence when first questioned by police, but later confessed after nine hours of interrogation and 79 denials.
At a hearing on Calusinski's case on Friday, a Lake County judge gave her attorneys 60 days to respond to prosecutors' objections to a new trial.
Prosecutors have said the X-ray evidence cited by the defense is actually old evidence Calusinski's attorneys had electronically enhanced, and do not change the jury's finding that she threw Benjamin to the floor. They also have said, even if the boy had a pre-existing head injury, Calusinski's actions contributed to his death.
Calusinski's father was infuriated by prosecutors' arguments.
"Shame on the state's attorney for accusing our defense team for turning around and saying they electronically enhanced those X-rays, because that is farther from the truth," Paul Calusinski said.
The judge has scheduled a status hearing on the case for March 11.
