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The Case of Melissa Calusinski
📻 Episode #459
🎙️ Hosted by Jason Flom
📅 Jun 27, 2024
About This Episode
On January 14, 2009, sixteen-month-old Benjamin Kingan died after being in daycare at a suburb outside of Chicago, IL. Despite no physical signs of abuse or injury, police took 22-year-old Melissa Calusinski, an employee at the daycare, in for extensive questioning. Melissa repeatedly told officers she had nothing to do with the baby’s death, but…
The Case
On January 14, 2009, sixteen-month-old Benjamin Kingan died after being in daycare at a suburb outside of Chicago, IL. Despite no physical signs of abuse or injury, police took 22-year-old Melissa Calusinski, an employee at the daycare, in for extensive questioning. Melissa repeatedly told officers she had nothing to do with the baby’s death, but after nine hours of interrogation, she falsely confessed to throwing the baby on the ground. The state relied on the later disproven theory that Benjamin died from a skull fracture, junk science testimony from medical professionals, and Melissa’s false confession to sentence her to 31 years in prison for first-degree murder.
Write your letters of support for Melissa’s clemency petition to IL Governor Pritzker and send to:
attorneys@zellnerlawoffices.com
Letters are due by 7/8/2024
https://www.kathleentzellner.com/melissa-calusinski
https://www.facebook.com/groups/740709216037007/
In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts
Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.
00:04:31“Speaker 1: there named Benjamin Kingen. What do we know about the Speaker 1: pre existing conditions that now have come to life? Speaker 3: In October of two thousand and eight, Melissa hadn't even Speaker 3: started working there and there was an incident at the Speaker 3: daycare center. That incident was totally concealed from the parents.”
00:17:16“Speaker 2: I literally thought I was going home to see my puppy. Speaker 2: I had my keys with the prestarter, I had my Speaker 2: phone in my hand. I was literally thought I was Speaker 2: going home to see my family and my dog. But Speaker 2: it was crazy when they took everything out of my hand.”
00:29:30“Speaker 3: accused our computer expert of manipulating the data. Nancy Jones Speaker 3: became critically ill with cancer. She died about a month Speaker 3: after there, and she was too ill to come in Speaker 3: and testify. So we brought in doctor Zimmermann, and he Speaker 3: was head of the National Trauma Abuse Council in the”
Listen to the Episode
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← #458 Alan Beaman - Part 1 #460 Alan Beaman - Part 2 →
Also on the podcast: #207 Melissa Lucio · #253 Jason Flom on Melissa Lucio