X-Ray Prompts New Trial Request for Woman Convicted in Daycare Killing

By AMIE SCHAENZER (Patch Staff)

Attorneys for a 28-year-old Carpentersville woman sentenced to prison for killing 16-month-old Benjamin Kingan of Deerfield are requesting a new trial after X-rays revealed a pre-existing injury, the Daily Herald reports.

The motion was filed Tuesday for for Melissa Calusinski who is currently serving a 31-year prison sentence after a jury found her guilty in 2011 of killing the Deerfield boy at the now-closed Minee Subee in the Park in Lincolnshire, according to the article.

Defense attorney Kathleen Zellner argues a new trial should be granted after a second set of X-rays were found in the state’s attorney’s office. A forensic examination of the X-rays revealed the child died from a chronic case of cerebral swellingof the brain, which was brought on after the child bumped his own head, the newspaper reports.

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