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Taxes and fees extra. Feeful terms at

1:00

mintmobile.com. fees extra. See full

1:02

terms at mintmobile.com. Hello,

1:16

Melissa. It's been, boy, more

1:19

than a decade since I

1:21

first met you? Mm-hmm.

1:23

When we first met, did

1:25

you ever think you'd still

1:27

be here this long? No.

1:29

Why am I still in

1:31

here? I just don't

1:34

understand. You may remember,

1:36

in 2009, Melissa Calusinsky was

1:38

working at a Lincolnshire daycare.

1:41

She was given 31 years

1:43

in prison for the death

1:45

of a 16-month-old who was

1:48

in her care. Since then,

1:50

she and her supporters have

1:53

been fighting back, calling this

1:55

a wrongful conviction. It

1:57

hurts. She doesn't blind air.

2:00

She's the kind of person

2:02

that would take her shirt

2:04

off her back and help

2:06

other people. This is my

2:08

baby. This is my youngest.

2:11

I just want her home.

2:13

I used to work at

2:15

the mini-sooby daycare. I think

2:17

it was definitely more than

2:19

a job to her. The

2:22

kids were her number one

2:24

priority. I feel like the

2:26

kids brightened her day. Do

2:28

you believe that Melissa Kowozinsky

2:30

had anything to do with

2:33

Ben King and stuff? Siro,

2:35

she had nothing to do

2:37

with it. I am Melissa

2:39

Kowozinsky's current attorney. She loved

2:42

Ben. Ben loved her. And

2:44

what she told the police

2:46

was that she threw him

2:48

to the floor. You threw

2:50

him on the floor? Yeah.

2:53

Show us how hard to

2:55

do him on the ground.

2:58

Did you hurt that baby?

3:00

No, I did not. I

3:02

would never do that. You

3:05

got her isolated in a

3:07

small room with these two

3:09

men for hours. She's trying

3:12

so hard to be the

3:14

good girl, the compliant girl.

3:16

She's not equipped to deal

3:19

with a situation like that.

3:21

We're not going anywhere until

3:23

we get the facts here.

3:25

The only way for me

3:28

to get out was to

3:30

make a confession, a false

3:32

confession. Is there any evidence

3:35

that corroborates the confession that

3:37

Melissa made? Zero. We would

3:39

never take someone to trial

3:42

with just a confession. This

3:44

child had a fractured skull.

3:46

There was extensive injuries to

3:48

this child internally. It's clear

3:51

that she killed Benjamin. Do

3:53

you believe there was a

3:55

skull fracture? There is no

3:58

fracture the evidence had been

4:00

If I take these sliders

4:02

here, you can manipulate this

4:04

photo. So somebody went in

4:07

and they altered the contrast

4:09

to make it look like

4:11

that on screen. Somebody took

4:14

x-rays that were completely clear

4:16

and turned them into unreadable

4:18

images. Yes, I can't think

4:21

of an innocent explanation. So

4:23

you're saying that either the

4:25

prosecutor's office or the coroner's

4:27

office, but somebody representing the

4:30

state did this. Yes. Yes.

4:32

A former daycare worker convicted

4:34

of killing a toddler tries

4:37

again today to be released

4:39

from prison. Their case was

4:41

before the Prisoner Review Board

4:44

in an effort to get

4:46

clemency. People have to know

4:48

the truth. I have to

4:50

keep pushing, fighting no matter

4:53

how much it hurts.

4:55

I want people to

4:57

know I'm innocent. Aaron

4:59

Moriarty reports unraveling the

5:01

case against Melissa. Melissa

5:03

Calyozinsky has served 16

5:05

years of a 31-year

5:07

prison sentence for the

5:09

death of Benjamin Kingon,

5:11

a 16-month-old whom she

5:13

cared for at an

5:15

Illinois daycare center. She

5:17

has long insisted. She

5:19

has long insisted. She

5:21

is innocent. This is

5:23

not where I belong.

5:25

I'm going to continue

5:27

to fight no matter

5:29

what because I did

5:31

not do this. We've

5:33

been covering this case

5:35

for more than a

5:37

decade and over the

5:39

years Melissa's appeals have

5:41

failed. But she and

5:43

her attorney Kathleen Zellner

5:45

are not backing down.

5:47

Now they're taking their

5:50

fight out of the

5:52

court system and straight

5:54

to the governor of

5:56

Illinois. J.B. Pritzker and

5:58

his prisoner review board.

6:00

asking them to declare

6:02

that she's actually innocent

6:04

and release her. We

6:07

are also saying commuter

6:09

sentence. The story

6:11

began on January 14,

6:14

2009. Melissa, then 22

6:16

years old, was working

6:18

as a teacher's assistant

6:20

at the Mini-Subi daycare

6:23

in Lincolnshire, an affluent

6:25

suburb of Chicago. Ben

6:28

King and attended daycare there

6:30

along with his twin sister

6:32

and their two older siblings.

6:34

I came to work and

6:36

I saw Ben. He was

6:38

fine, normal, happy, playful. Late

6:41

that afternoon after the kids

6:43

were fed a snack and cleaned

6:45

up. Melissa says she put Ben

6:47

down on the carpet and he

6:50

crawled into his bouncy seat

6:52

on the floor. He's sitting

6:54

in his bouncy chair. playing

6:56

with his blanket and he

6:58

was starting to kind of

7:01

fall asleep which was normal.

7:03

The teacher working with Melissa

7:05

stepped out of the room

7:08

briefly leaving Melissa alone with

7:10

the children. That's when Melissa

7:12

said she noticed something wrong

7:14

with Ben. He didn't look

7:16

right. I took his little

7:19

hand and I touched his

7:21

hand and I'm like Ben,

7:23

Ben. He did not wake

7:25

up at all. I saw

7:27

orange foam coming out of

7:29

his nose and um... I'm

7:31

sorry. Melissa called for help.

7:33

Her older sister, Crystal

7:36

Kowyozinsky, also worked

7:39

at the daycare at the

7:41

time. I hear on the

7:44

intercom. Someone helped me, help

7:46

me, help me. I ran

7:48

in, then started CPR immediately.

7:51

Was that light for you,

7:53

Chris? I dream about it

7:55

a lot. Like, I see it in

7:57

my, you know, my head. 911

8:00

was called. I have a

8:02

child who was, who's filming,

8:05

who's not breathing. Paramedics responded.

8:07

Ben was taken to the

8:09

hospital. He was pronounced dead

8:11

an hour later. Me and

8:14

my sister fell to the

8:16

floor and we're just, we're

8:18

just bawling. What happened to

8:21

him and how I don't,

8:23

I don't understand. An investigation

8:25

was launched. According to this

8:28

police report, during an autopsy,

8:30

the pathologist Dr. Yuple Choi

8:32

told a detective that he

8:34

observed a skull fracture, extensive

8:37

bleeding inside Ben's head, and

8:39

that the injury was caused

8:41

by another person, using strong

8:44

force, within hours prior to

8:46

Ben's death. And yet Ben

8:48

had no cuts or obvious

8:51

wounds on the outside of

8:53

his body. No serious bruises.

8:55

The pathologist listed the autopsy

8:58

as pending further studies. Police

9:00

brought in the daycare workers

9:02

who had been with the

9:04

toddler on the day of

9:07

his death. Determined to find

9:09

out what happened to Ben.

9:11

After Melissa was read her

9:14

rights. Routine a protocol for

9:16

us. Detectives began pressing her

9:18

for answers. I have a

9:21

good idea that you've seen

9:23

what happened or you weren't

9:25

involved with what happened because

9:27

you were the only one

9:30

in the room at the

9:32

onside of this. Melissa denied

9:34

over and over again more

9:37

than 60 times doing anything

9:39

to Ben. I did not

9:41

drop him. But the detectives

9:44

didn't stop. You're there. It's

9:46

not like there were 50

9:48

people in that room with

9:51

you. All these years later,

9:53

Melissa still remembers what it

9:55

was like being in that

9:57

room. They weren't listening to

10:00

anything, I said. After nine

10:02

hours under pressure... and without

10:04

an attorney. Melissa changed her

10:07

story. She said she thought

10:09

if she told the investigators

10:11

what they wanted to hear,

10:14

they would let her go

10:16

home. We're not going anywhere

10:18

until we get the facts

10:20

here. The only way for

10:23

me to get out was

10:25

to make a confession, a

10:27

false confession. I wasn't thinking

10:30

at all. You weren't thinking

10:32

of the consequences of doing

10:34

something like that? All I

10:37

could think about was just

10:39

going home. He starts half

10:41

and up and you get

10:43

mad at him and you

10:46

throw him on the floor.

10:48

Yeah, really hard. When Melissa

10:50

was taken to another station

10:53

for booking, she repeated the

10:55

same story to another investigator.

10:57

After spending 14 hours with

11:00

police. Melissa Kowyozinsky was arrested

11:02

for the murder of Benjamin

11:04

Kingin. Even though she almost

11:07

immediately took back the story

11:09

she told police. No, I'm

11:11

innocent. Melissa's parents, Paul and

11:13

Cheryl Kowyozinsky, still remember receiving

11:16

the news. And I said,

11:18

what? Did you think possibly?

11:20

She had hurt this baby?

11:23

Nope. She... is the kind

11:25

of person that would never,

11:27

never, never put her hand

11:30

on someone else's child. But

11:32

Melissa had told investigators that

11:34

she did. And after that,

11:36

the manner of death on

11:39

Ben's death certificate was listed

11:41

as homicide. Law enforcement announced

11:43

they had solved the case.

11:46

Ms. Kalzinsky admitted to police

11:48

that she had taken the

11:50

infant. on the ground. They

11:53

made her look like a

11:55

bad person. And she's not

11:57

that type of a person.

12:02

Melissa's family would

12:04

make it their

12:06

mission to clear

12:09

her name. My

12:11

parents sold everything

12:13

that they had.

12:16

I put all

12:18

my effort into

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of students. Cost varies by

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pace, transfer credits and other

13:21

factors. He

13:30

was a very healthy baby.

13:32

Just a happy, happy little

13:35

boy. In November 2011, nearly

13:37

three years after the death

13:39

of Ben Kingen, Melissa Kowyozinski

13:42

went on trial for murder.

13:44

The state argued that Ben

13:46

was a perfectly healthy toddler

13:49

leading up to his death.

13:51

Matthew DiMartini and Stephen Shelley

13:53

prosecuted the case. How would

13:56

you describe what the parents

13:58

have gone through? When somebody

14:00

takes your child from you,

14:02

I don't think... that there's

14:05

any words to describe what

14:07

they have gone through. Dr.

14:09

Choi, the pathologist who conducted

14:12

the autopsy, testified about that

14:14

skull fracture he said he

14:16

had seen and how he

14:19

believed the child's injury was

14:21

recent and consistent with having

14:23

been thrown to the floor

14:26

by someone. But Melissa's trial

14:28

attorney Paul Deluca told the

14:30

jury about a head injury

14:32

Ben had previously received. It

14:35

was noticed at the daycare

14:37

three months earlier. Melissa was

14:39

not even working there at

14:42

the daycare center. After Ben's

14:44

death, multiple people, including daycare

14:46

teacher Nancy Callinger, told investigators

14:49

about it. The pediatrician actually

14:51

examined Benjamin's head. It felt

14:53

around, said there was no

14:56

issues, that moms should just

14:58

keep an eye on him.

15:00

Ben never had an issue

15:02

after that. That's not what

15:05

defense experts said. They noted

15:07

that after the injury, there

15:09

were possible signs of head

15:12

trauma. Medical records showed that

15:14

in the days after the

15:16

injury, Ben was lethargic and

15:19

had a persistent fever. And

15:21

another daycare employee, Holly, who

15:23

asks that we identify her

15:26

by her first name only,

15:28

testified for the defense about

15:30

the last time she saw

15:33

Ben, two days before his

15:35

death. Melissa walked into the

15:37

room and she was holding

15:39

Ben and she said like

15:42

he's not feeling well and

15:44

it was almost immediately after

15:46

she said that that he

15:49

threw up like everywhere. The

15:52

next day, one day before

15:54

he died, Ben was kept

15:56

home from daycare. Prosecutor Matthew

15:58

DiMartini argued... was a stomach

16:00

bug or a winter cold.

16:02

He was given pitealite

16:05

and put to bed. He woke up

16:07

the next day and he was fine.

16:09

But the defense maintained that

16:12

Ben's prior injury was so

16:14

serious that any new impact

16:17

could have had major consequences

16:19

and Ben did have a habit of

16:22

throwing his head back. He would

16:24

be sitting on the ground and

16:26

he would just... kind of lunches

16:29

his body backwards and hit

16:31

his head, you know, I guess you'd

16:33

call it like he was a headbanger.

16:35

Nancy Callinger recalled that Ben had done

16:38

that twice on the day of his

16:40

death. I put it on the floor

16:42

and you need to do himself

16:44

on the floor. And then I

16:46

walked towards the sink and you go

16:49

to a cell for again. Prosecutors

16:51

insisted that Melissa had hurt

16:54

Ben. This child did not.

16:56

explode or implode on his own.

16:58

And they pointed to her

17:00

confession. She became frustrated at

17:02

holding Ben. She threw him

17:04

to the floor. Prosecutors told

17:07

the jury that the fall was

17:09

so severe, it caused that skull

17:11

fracture. At trial, they mentioned a

17:14

skull fracture more than 30 times.

17:16

But was there one? While most

17:18

of the experts who testified from

17:20

both sides agreed... There appeared

17:23

to be a fracture in

17:25

autopsy photos. One defense expert

17:27

said she couldn't say for

17:29

sure, and according to Melissa's

17:31

attorney Paul DeLuca, the x-rays

17:34

the prosecution had provided

17:36

before the trial were

17:38

unreadable. For trial, I said,

17:40

do we have any better images than

17:42

it was? No. The state's final

17:44

witness, pathologist Dr. Manny

17:46

Montes, gave the most

17:48

vivid and damaging testimony

17:50

at trial. He said he

17:53

examined the body and

17:55

felt the fracture with

17:58

his bare hands. call

18:00

and through the fracture. I

18:02

mean, it was devastating. The

18:04

jury deliberated for seven hours

18:06

before convicting Melissa Calusinsky of

18:08

aggravated battery of a child

18:10

and first-degree murder. My heart

18:13

sunk. I know I didn't

18:15

do this. Melissa's family remained

18:17

determined to prove her innocence.

18:19

I didn't accept the verdict.

18:21

I knew what was wrong.

18:23

and in 2012, a year

18:25

after the conviction, Dr. Thomas

18:27

Rudd, the then newly elected

18:29

Lake County coroner, agreed to

18:32

review the autopsy evidence at

18:34

the urging of Melissa's trial

18:36

attorney. I saw a membrane,

18:38

and I thought, my God,

18:40

what do you mean when

18:42

you say you saw a

18:44

membrane? You see a scab,

18:46

similar to what forms on

18:48

your skin, except it's in

18:51

the brain. This is a

18:53

slide of a part of

18:55

this infant's brain. Correct. By

18:57

definition, if you have a

18:59

membrane, you have an old

19:01

injury. At Melissa's trial, Dr.

19:03

Choi had told the jury

19:05

he observed no sign of

19:07

an old injury. But according

19:10

to Dr. Rudd, Dr. Choi

19:12

had simply missed it. He

19:14

called in Dr. Nancy Jones,

19:16

a well-regarded pathologist for his

19:18

second opinion. And she agreed

19:20

with Dr. and noted that

19:22

the old injury had been

19:24

healing for about two or

19:26

three months. A time frame

19:29

consistent with that bump on

19:31

Ben's head that was noticed

19:33

at daycare. How they let

19:35

that go is beyond me.

19:37

Like the defense experts at

19:39

trial, Dr. Jones and Rudd

19:41

believed that the old injury

19:43

was further exacerbated by Ben's

19:45

headbanging. The added fluid of

19:48

the recent injury pushes that

19:50

brain down and shuts down

19:52

the breathing system. That is

19:54

the cause of the child's

19:56

death. It was the old

19:58

injury. The old injury was

20:00

massive. Dr. Red phoned that

20:02

now retired Dr. who signed

20:04

a sworn affidavit conceding that

20:07

he had missed that Ben

20:09

had suffered an old injury.

20:11

But he crossed out the

20:13

word significant and when asked

20:15

if he would have changed

20:17

his testimony at trial, Dr.

20:19

Choi said no. There's no

20:21

indication that anything there is

20:23

significant. But Dr. Rudd suspected

20:25

that Dr. Choi may have

20:28

also been wrong about another

20:30

major issue in the case.

20:32

that alleged skull fracture. What

20:34

should have been done was

20:36

that whole section should have

20:38

been cut out to look

20:40

under the microscope to see

20:42

if in fact it is

20:44

a skull fracture. And they

20:47

didn't. Dr. Rub believed what

20:49

Dr. Choi and the other

20:51

medical experts thought was a

20:53

skull fracture may have instead

20:55

been a normal part of

20:57

Ben's growing skull, but it

20:59

couldn't prove it. Then in

21:01

2015. Melissa's father said he

21:03

received an anonymous call that

21:06

there was a set of

21:08

x-rays at the coroner's office

21:10

that had never been turned

21:12

over to the defense. When

21:14

Dr. Rudd's staff searched the

21:16

computer archives, they came across

21:18

these startling images that were

21:20

never shown at trial. I

21:22

was dumbfounded. There's definitely no

21:25

skull fracture here. I've

21:42

shown this to various pathologists

21:44

and a radiologist, they've all

21:47

called me and say there

21:49

is no skull fracture in

21:51

this child at all. In

21:54

2015, four years after Melissa

21:56

Kowozinski's conviction, and shortly after

21:58

those clear x-rays... and Kingham

22:01

were found, Dr. Rud changed

22:03

the manner of death on

22:05

Ben's death certificate from homicide

22:07

to undetermined. By this point,

22:10

Defense Attorney Kathleen Zellner had

22:12

taken on Melissa's case. I

22:14

don't know of a case

22:17

in America where someone serving

22:19

a 31-year prison sentence for

22:21

a death that was undetermined.

22:23

Zellner, who has built a

22:26

career on getting the wrongfully

22:28

convicted out of prison, was

22:30

intent on getting Melissa's conviction

22:33

overturned. And in 2016, Melissa

22:35

was granted an evidentiary hearing

22:37

to present what Zellner argued

22:40

was new evidence before Judge

22:42

Daniel Shains, the same judge

22:44

who presided over Melissa's trial.

22:46

The new evidence was that

22:49

the images that had been

22:51

given to Paul de Luca

22:53

had been darkened. Remember, the

22:56

state gave Melissa's trial attorney

22:58

Paul DeLuca a discontaining these

23:00

dark, unreadable x-rays before trial.

23:02

At the evidentiary hearing, Dr.

23:05

Rudd testified about finding the

23:07

clear x-rays, x-rays that he

23:09

and other defense experts said

23:12

showed no skull fracture. X-rays

23:14

that Zelner argued would have

23:16

changed the outcome of Melissa's

23:19

trial. The skull fracture was

23:21

the pivotal point in the

23:23

state's case to convince the

23:25

jury it was a homicide.

23:28

But at the evidentiary hearing,

23:30

prosecutors argued that this wasn't

23:32

new evidence in the case.

23:35

They said that this provided

23:37

to DeLuca had software that

23:39

could enhance the x-rays and

23:42

that he simply didn't do

23:44

enough to brighten them. Deluca

23:46

says he couldn't even open

23:48

the software. I call in

23:51

a secretary, calling somebody else

23:53

in the office. No one

23:55

could get any better images.

23:58

Zellner, with the help of

24:00

an imaging expert, argued that

24:02

it didn't matter what Deluca...

24:04

did, that the x-rays that

24:07

he had been given had

24:09

been modified and were inferior

24:11

to the ones on the

24:14

coroner's office computer. She also

24:16

called a witness whom she

24:18

believed raised more questions about

24:21

the prosecution's case, Paul Foreman,

24:23

the deputy coroner during Ben

24:25

King's autopsies. Foreman disputed the

24:27

testimony of one of the

24:30

most important witnesses at Melissa's

24:32

trial. Dr. Banny Montes. Remember,

24:34

Dr. Montes was the state's

24:37

final witness who testified that

24:39

he felt a fracture in

24:41

Ben King and Skull. But

24:43

Foreman who said he was

24:46

there when Montes came to

24:48

the coroner's office testified that

24:50

Montes never physically examined Ben's

24:53

body or actually touched the

24:55

child's skull. Could he have

24:57

somehow gone in and looked

25:00

at Ben's body, examined the

25:02

body without you knowing? No,

25:04

I was with him from

25:06

the moment he came in

25:09

the door to the moment

25:11

he left. The state tried

25:13

to discredit Forman by questioning

25:16

his memory as well as

25:18

his mental health. Forman told

25:20

us he had been treated

25:22

for bipolar disorder and depression.

25:25

Well, it was a personal

25:27

attack. But Foreman wasn't the

25:29

only defense witness who raised

25:32

questions about Dr. Montes's testimony.

25:34

Dr. Robert Zimmerman, a renowned

25:36

pediatric neuroradiologist who examined the

25:39

readable x-rays, testified that if

25:41

that skull fracture had existed,

25:43

it would be clearly visible.

25:45

It wasn't there on the

25:48

x-ray, so I don't think

25:50

you could actually see them.

25:52

But prosecutors stood by their

25:55

trial witnesses. Dr. Montes and

25:57

Dr. Choi, who said they

25:59

saw and felt a skull

26:02

fracture. We reached out to

26:04

both doctors for this broad...

26:06

but they did not respond

26:08

to our request for comment.

26:11

When the evidentiary hearing ended,

26:13

Judge Shane's ruled against Melissa.

26:15

She was dealt a devastating

26:18

setback today in court. That's

26:20

when a judge ruled she

26:22

would not get a new

26:24

trial. In his ruling, Judge

26:27

Shane stated that he didn't

26:29

find Paul Forman's testimony regarding

26:31

Dr. Montes, credible. And he

26:34

agreed with the state that

26:36

Paul Deluca... could have brightened

26:38

the x-rays and made them

26:41

readable. It was another letdown

26:43

for Melissa and her family.

26:45

You clearly made a mistake.

26:47

I just don't understand. Zellner

26:50

appealed the ruling, but again

26:52

a disappointment. And then, four

26:54

years later in 2022, there

26:57

was a development that few

26:59

saw coming. Eric Reinhart, a

27:01

new state's attorney in Lake

27:03

County, the county where Melissa

27:06

was convicted, had taken office.

27:08

Zellner says he wanted more

27:10

information on the discrepancy over

27:13

the x-rays. So he recommended

27:15

she retain the digital forensics

27:17

company Garrett Discovery. We paid

27:20

for him, but he recommended

27:22

him. Andrew Garrett is the

27:24

CEO of Garrett Discovery. Brian

27:26

Bowman is a digital forensics

27:29

expert who works for him.

27:31

They concluded the x-rays were

27:33

manipulated by someone using a

27:36

software tool used to view

27:38

x-rays. How did Paul DeLuca,

27:40

the defense attorney, end up

27:43

with these very dark pictures?

27:45

I can show you. I

27:47

can show you. So if

27:49

I take these sliders here

27:52

and I drag them all

27:54

the way down or all

27:56

the way up you can

27:59

minute this photo. So somebody

28:01

went in and they altered the

28:03

contrast to make it look like that

28:05

on screen and then exported that

28:08

file. On the corners computer.

28:10

On the corners computer. Bowman

28:12

agrees there was little DeLuca

28:14

could do. The defense counsel

28:16

could have adjusted some of the

28:19

contrast on the jepex that they were

28:21

given, but they couldn't make the

28:23

images bigger and they wouldn't be able

28:25

to go in and zoom into the

28:28

depth. and have the clarity of

28:30

the image that the original

28:32

is. But if Ben King's x-rays

28:34

were manipulated, who did it?

28:37

In their report, Garrett and

28:39

Bowman pointed to the state. You

28:41

put in here, the state adjusted

28:43

the settings of the

28:46

images that resulted in

28:48

black washed-out images. You're

28:50

saying that either the prosecutor's

28:53

office or the coroner's

28:55

office, but somebody representing.

28:57

the state did this? Yes,

28:59

yes. This is not a kiosk computer

29:02

sitting in a lobby. This is

29:04

in their custody and control.

29:07

You have to be in the coroner's office

29:09

to get access to this.

29:11

What do you make of

29:13

Garrett Discovery's findings? Chat now

29:15

with the 48 hours team

29:17

on Facebook and X. This

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message This This message comes

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Learn more at aarp.org/local. In

30:30

late 2022, when Lake County

30:32

State's attorney Eric Reiner met

30:34

with the forensic experts, experts

30:36

he recommended and learned of

30:39

their findings, attorneys Kathleen Zellner

30:41

and Paul Deluca were also

30:43

there. Eric was just indignant.

30:45

He was saying whoever had

30:47

done this manipulation should be

30:49

held accountable. I believed after

30:51

the... meeting that he believed

30:54

in Melissa's innocence and he

30:56

was going to try to

30:58

rectify this. I thought he

31:00

was going to do something

31:02

about it. But nothing happened,

31:04

say Zellner and DeLuca, and

31:06

as the months stretched on,

31:08

Zellner decided to also look

31:11

more closely at Melissa's confession.

31:13

That's the only evidence against

31:15

her. There's nothing that tips

31:17

this as being a homicide,

31:19

absolutely nothing. Zellner asked Dr.

31:21

Saul-Kassen, a psychology professor and

31:23

leading expert on false confessions,

31:26

to review the case. Dr.

31:28

Kassen had first analyzed the

31:30

interrogation back in 2016 when

31:32

he was a CBS News

31:34

consultant. He told us then

31:36

and now. that it appears

31:38

police went into that room

31:40

determined to get a confession.

31:43

The reason that we were

31:45

called in in this incident

31:47

is because Ben's skull was

31:49

captured. What we need to

31:51

know right now is if

31:53

this was done by accident

31:55

or did somebody intentionally hurt

31:58

him? Yeah, I would never

32:00

put my hands on her.

32:02

Her denials were emphatic. I've

32:04

never put my hand on

32:06

the chest ever. And they

32:08

plowed over all of them.

32:10

You know what? Medical evidence,

32:12

it just doesn't lie. Okay.

32:15

Remember a detective reported that

32:17

during the autopsy... The pathologist

32:19

Dr. Troy told him that

32:21

Ben had a skull fracture

32:23

and that the injury was

32:25

recent and was caused by

32:27

another person using strong force.

32:30

They didn't know autopsy on

32:32

Ben. We're talking a skull

32:34

fracture. There's sometimes accidents happen

32:36

and I mean they're unavoidable.

32:38

They launch into an accident

32:40

scenario. I did not drop

32:42

him. Did you lose your

32:44

patience and hit him? No.

32:47

Did you push him into

32:49

a wall? After nearly six

32:51

hours with investigators. You didn't

32:53

come to work their day

32:55

with the intent of hurting

32:57

anybody. Melissa told them it

32:59

was an accident. Did you

33:02

drop the baby? Yes. I

33:04

wasn't paying attention. He slipped

33:06

out of my hands. But

33:08

that didn't satisfy the detectives.

33:10

who had left the room

33:12

periodically to phone Dr. Choi.

33:14

That story you're giving us

33:16

is a lot of shit.

33:19

There's no way, no way,

33:21

that that would have caused

33:23

that traumatic of an injury.

33:25

All you need to do

33:27

is tell us the truth

33:29

and we're done. They're not

33:31

saying nothing will happen to

33:34

you, but it's implied. After

33:36

nine hours in that room,

33:38

the investigators were finally getting

33:40

Melissa to tell a story

33:42

that could account. for a

33:44

skull fracture. You're angry. I

33:46

was angry and aggravated. Show

33:48

us how angry you were

33:51

and show us what happened

33:53

and let's just get this

33:55

over with them. Okay. So

33:57

I got angry. Yeah. And

33:59

I'm going to tell you

34:01

something right now. This is

34:03

very specific. This is going

34:06

to leave a specific mark.

34:08

Like a fracture. Then they

34:10

gave Melissa a scenario of

34:12

why she got angry. We

34:14

think in this situation the

34:16

other babies are screaming, crying.

34:18

And what she did. He

34:20

starts acting up and you

34:23

get mad at them and

34:25

you throw them on the

34:27

floor. You throw

34:29

on the floor? Yeah. She

34:31

needs to get out of

34:34

there. She can't take it

34:36

anymore. I'm so sorry. Okay,

34:38

no, we understand. The detectives

34:41

who interrogated Melissa did not

34:43

respond to our request for

34:45

comment. Dr. Casson raises concerns

34:48

about how long Melissa was

34:50

in that room. Approximately 10

34:52

hours and how particularly vulnerable

34:55

she was. About two and

34:57

a half years before Ben

35:00

Kingin's death, Melissa had reported

35:02

she was raped. She was

35:04

enclosed in a small space

35:07

pinned down and sexually assaulted.

35:09

Now she's pinned into the

35:11

corner of her room. I

35:14

can only imagine that while

35:16

this would be normally stressful

35:18

for the average person, it

35:21

would be even more stressful

35:23

for somebody with that history.

35:25

The defense recently had Melissa

35:28

evaluated by a psychologist and

35:30

psychiatrist. They diagnosed her with

35:32

post-traumatic stress disorder. They also

35:35

assessed her as having borderline

35:37

intellectual functioning. She scored at

35:39

a 4.8 grade level in

35:42

sentence comprehension. Which could help

35:44

explain why she believed she

35:46

could go home, even after

35:49

she confessed to murder. I'm

35:51

just kind of curious how

35:53

long, much more. Now which

35:56

line we're in the form

35:58

right now, we're trying to

36:00

get this done as quickly

36:03

as possible. Because I just

36:05

want to go spend time

36:07

with my parents and others.

36:10

She had no idea what

36:12

was happening. The confession in

36:14

my mind is worthless. There

36:17

are multiple reasons why she

36:19

might have given this confession.

36:21

This isn't just a vulnerable

36:24

suspect. It isn't just interrogation

36:26

tactics that are highly deceptive.

36:28

It's both. The jury at

36:31

Melissa's trial heard about her

36:33

low IQ, but the judge

36:35

would not allow a false

36:38

confession expert to testify. Zelner

36:40

believes that testimony might have

36:42

changed the verdict. If Melissa

36:45

Kaljozinski had not walked into

36:47

that room as she had

36:49

insisted on attorney, would she

36:52

be in prison? No, absolutely

36:54

not. They had absolutely nothing.

36:56

There's no eyewitness, there was

36:59

no video. The reason Melissa

37:01

Kaljozinsky got charged is she

37:03

confessed. But if Melissa didn't

37:06

harm Ben Kingon, what happened

37:08

to the toddler? It raises

37:11

more questions about that earlier

37:13

injury, the one that was

37:15

discovered at the daycare months

37:18

before his death. Several employees

37:20

there remembered a co-worker. Brenda

37:22

didn't testify at Melissa's trial,

37:25

and the defense was never

37:27

able to track her down.

37:29

But we did. A number

37:32

of people have said that

37:34

Ben was hurt when he

37:36

was with you. Melissa

37:48

Callusinski was interrogated for hours

37:50

about the injury Ben Kingen

37:53

received just before his death.

37:55

But what about the daycare

37:57

worker who was reported to

37:59

be... with Ben a few

38:01

months earlier when he got a

38:03

lump on his head. She didn't return

38:05

our calls, but when we

38:07

located her, she agreed to

38:09

speak to us on the

38:12

condition we obscure her face

38:14

and identify her only by

38:16

Brenda, her first name. On October

38:18

27th, 2008, there was a report

38:20

of an injury on Ben King,

38:22

and do you remember that? No,

38:24

I don't. The way it's been

38:26

described is from some people is

38:28

that Ben was with you and

38:30

you were putting him in the

38:32

bed, they heard a bump, and

38:35

then he had a bump in

38:37

the back of his head? No.

38:39

Did that happen with you? No.

38:41

But you did stop working the

38:43

very next day? I did. I

38:45

was just kind of tired of

38:47

being there. I don't recall a

38:49

bump and I don't recall

38:51

ever bumping him. So do

38:54

you say it didn't happen

38:56

or you don't remember it

38:58

happening? No, it didn't happen.

39:00

Brenda has never been charged

39:02

with harming Ben intentionally or

39:04

accidentally, but Attorney Kathleen Zellmer

39:06

is adamant that Ben sustained

39:08

a serious injury that day. I

39:11

think that his parents were

39:13

misled by the daycare center

39:15

about that incident. And

39:17

according to these police reports,

39:20

it wouldn't be the first

39:22

time that the daycare allegedly

39:24

tried to cover up the

39:26

seriousness of a child's injury.

39:28

The daycare was shut down

39:31

by state authorities shortly after

39:33

Ben died. In April 2024,

39:36

more than 12 years after

39:38

Melissa's conviction, With no success

39:40

in the court system, Zellner

39:43

filed this clemency petition,

39:46

asking Illinois Governor J.B.

39:48

Pritzker to exonerate Melissa

39:50

or release her for

39:52

time served. I believe this

39:54

is her best chance for

39:57

freedom. Before a scheduled

39:59

hearing. Lake County State's attorney

40:01

Eric Reinhart spoke to an

40:03

attorney representing Ben King's family

40:05

and then he wrote this

40:07

letter to the prisoner review

40:09

board stating his office strongly

40:11

opposes Melissa's clemency petition. Were

40:14

you shocked? Totally. I believe

40:16

he thinks in his heart

40:18

that she's innocent. Reinhart would

40:20

not do an on-camera interview

40:22

or speak to us on

40:24

the record. But in that

40:26

letter to the board, he

40:28

stated that there is no

40:30

new evidence in the case

40:32

and that Melissa's petition for

40:34

clemency does not establish innocence.

40:36

On July 9, 2024, Zellner

40:38

went before the prisoner review

40:41

board to make her case

40:43

for Melissa's freedom. What we

40:45

want to do today is

40:47

focus on who is this

40:49

person and how did she

40:51

end up in the position

40:53

that she's in and convicted

40:55

of the first new brain

40:57

murder of the child. But

40:59

also they are making an

41:01

impassion plea for Ben Kingen's

41:03

parents. My name is Amy

41:05

Kingen and I am here

41:07

with my house. We are

41:10

the parents of Ijou and

41:12

Penan who was murdered from

41:14

Melissa Kelly since we have

41:16

prevented the ground at greatest

41:18

call. Because of her actions,

41:20

Andy and I are adamantly

41:22

opposed to Melissa Kelly since

41:24

his release. We continue to

41:26

read about how there is

41:28

no justice from Melissa, but

41:30

where is the law justice

41:32

for that and for Andy

41:34

and myself and our surviving

41:37

children. We hope that you

41:39

is the prison review board

41:41

and the dog. and will

41:43

deny a petition for clients.

41:45

Amy and Andy Kingin declined

41:47

our request for an interview.

41:49

Following Amy's statement, Zellner was

41:51

then given the chance to

41:53

respond. There is no question

41:55

that the death of a

41:57

child is probably the worst

41:59

thing. who's ever happened to

42:01

a parent. But the only

42:04

way that her parent is

42:06

Chloe is with the truth.

42:08

And the truth has not

42:10

come out in this case.

42:12

I know that she is

42:14

innocent. After the hearing, it

42:16

was up to the prisoner

42:18

review board to make a

42:20

confidential recommendation to Governor Pritzker

42:22

as to whether Melissa should

42:24

be released. If you had

42:26

a chance to talk to

42:28

Governor Pritzker yourself, what would

42:30

you say? I would say,

42:33

just please look at my

42:35

case. I didn't do this.

42:37

Holly, who worked at the

42:39

daycare with Melissa, believes her.

42:41

So much so that she

42:43

wrote this letter to the

42:45

governor. From the time Melissa

42:47

was arrested for Benjamin's murder,

42:49

I have always thought she

42:51

was innocent. The evidence does

42:53

not point to Melissa. I

42:55

can only imagine. how

42:59

Ben's family is going

43:02

to feel, knowing that

43:04

I'm saying Melissa's innocent.

43:06

But an innocent person

43:08

should not be in

43:11

jail. When we first

43:13

met the Calusinski family

43:15

back in 2014, five

43:18

years after Melissa's arrest,

43:20

they still had her

43:22

bedroom set up. Today,

43:26

that room is still

43:28

set up just as

43:31

it was. Paul and

43:33

Cheryl Kalyzenski haven't given

43:35

up hope that their

43:37

daughter will be home

43:39

soon. She's daddy's the

43:42

little girl. We did

43:44

ever see the cat.

43:46

And we're just going

43:48

to keep on until

43:50

she comes home. The

43:58

Prisoner Review Board made their...

44:00

confidential recommendation to

44:02

Governor Pritzker in

44:04

January to Governor There

44:07

is no deadline

44:09

for the governor

44:11

to act. There is no

44:13

deadline for the Governor to act.

44:15

Join me Tuesday for post-mortem from

44:17

48 hours, where we'll dive even

44:20

deeper into today's episode and answer

44:22

your questions about the case.