Former Illinois day care worker's push for clemency in 2009 murder case: "I didn’t do this" | Forensic Files

now to a 48 Hours investigation this is about a woman who was in prison for killing a toddler she's now asking the
governor of Illinois to Grant her clemency Melisa calusinski is her name she's a former daycare worker she'
served half of her 31-year prison sentence for murdering little Benjamin kingan a 16-month-old who was in her
care kosinski's defense team argues she was coerced into confessing and key evidence was manipulated 48 Hours
correspondent Aaron morard has been covering this case for more than a decade now Melissa kazinski has been
behind bars since 2009 when at the age of 22 she was arrested for murdering 16-month-old Benjamin kingan at a
suburban Chicago daycare center I'm going to continue to fight no matter what cuz I did not do this but Melissa
was the last one with Ben before his death and the pathologist who conducted the autopsy said the child suffered
extensive bleeding in his head and a skull fracture on the day he died the interrogation was grueling more than 60
times Melissa told police she didn't do it I never my but after nine long hours she confessed show us how hard you threw
him on the ground went like that Melissa insists she was pressured into confessing they broke me down and her
defense says that clear x-rays found after Melissa's conviction proved the child did not have a skull fracture and
that the images the defense was given at trial have been manipulated Andrew Garrett and Brian
Bowman are computer forensics experts hired by the defense so if I take these sliders here you can manipulate this
photo so somebody went in and they altered the contrast to make it look like that on
screen somebody took x-rays that were completely clear and turned them into unreadable images yes I can't think of
an innocent explanation defense experts believe it was an old injury that contributed to Ben's death over the
years prosecutors have stood by their case and Melissa's appeals have failed but now Melissa is turning to Illinois
governor JB pritsker and pleading that he release her just please look at my case I didn't do this
well happy to say Aon Mor already joins us at the table so many questions here number one I didn't know you could
manipulate x-rays but at the end of the day a little boy has died now she says she didn't do it so how does her defense
team explain well the defense points to that earlier injury I just quickly mentioned it but that child received an
injury three months before enough that the parents were told about it the defense takes a look at his medical
evidence and shows that they say that his brain was swelling two days before he died he had projectile vomiting was
lethargic but the state says well kids get sick and that injury that 3 months earlier was in significant it's really a
battle between experts and the state has the ability to really find out what happened to this baby if they wanted to
bring in experts take a look at now this evidence look at these x-rays well we do
want to know but she but she confessed Ain after 9 hours and she has a low IQ she has difficulty I mean that is uh
verified by an expert that she has verbal comprehension issues they knew that I I knew it when I interviewed her
I still can't believe that the detectives didn't say there's something wrong here right wow Erin thank you very
much you can watch Erin's 48 Hours report is called unraveling the case against Melissa kusinski that's tomorrow
night at 10 o'clock right here on CBS and then streaming on Paramount Plus

Melissa Calusinski, an Illinois daycare worker convicted of killing a 16-month-old in 2009 when she was 22 years old, insists she is innocent. She's turning to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has the power to grant clemency and release her, to review her case. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports.

Each weekday morning, "CBS Mornings" co-hosts Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil and Nate Burleson bring you the latest breaking news, smart conversation and in-depth feature reporting. "CBS Mornings" airs weekdays at 7 a.m. on CBS and stream it at 8 a.m. ET on the CBS News app.

For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com

Brief Summary

Melisa Calusinski seeks clemency for a murder conviction, claiming coerced confession and evidence manipulation in the death of toddler Benjamin Kingan.

Key points

The Case of Melissa Calusinski. A former daycare worker seeks clemency after being imprisoned for a toddler's death.
Evidence Manipulation Claims. Defense experts argue that key evidence was altered, impacting the case against Melissa.
Plea for Justice. Melissa appeals to the Illinois governor for a review of her case.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

They broke me down.

Melissa's description of the interrogation process.

1:24WatchJan 17, 2025

More from 48 Hours

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.