LAKEIRA CALAHAN - 11 Months (2009)/ Accused: Mother-Julie Calahan - Virginia Beach VA

A Facebook conversation between friends led police to reopen an
investigation into the 2009 death of an 11-month-old girl and this year
charge her mother with murder, a detective testified in court Thursday.

In the conversation, Julie M. Calahan admitted injuring her
daughter, Lakeira, prior to the child's death on May 6, 2009, Virginia
Beach homicide Detective Janine Hall testified during a hearing in
Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. Child Protective
Services forwarded the conversation to police, who questioned the
23-year-old mother before charging her in January with second-degree murder.

Prosecutors entered a printout of the conversation into evidence, and Hall read the dialogue aloud in court:

In the messages, a Facebook user by the name of Juls
Calahan tells a friend she shook Lakeira and stepped on her son,
Levontae, now 6. She writes that Child Protective Services had taken
away Levontae, and she'd instructed him to blame his injuries on her
husband, who isn't the boy's father.

"He knows I'm the one who hurt 'Tae and 'Keira...," Juls Calahan wrote.
"Sometimes I just want to die for what I did."

The social-media site was unfamiliar territory for Hall and defense attorney Janee Joslin.
"I have to be honest: I don't know anything about Facebook," Joslin said in court.
She asked whether someone could have posed as Calahan on
Facebook or hacked her account to send the incriminating messages. Hall
said she didn't know and hadn't used Facebook as evidence in a case before.

"I'm not a Facebook person," Hall said. "I'm not Facebook-savvy."
"You're just like me," Joslin said.

Calahan's brother-in-law, Stephen C. Calahan, 25, received a
yearlong jail sentence in April 2010 after pleading guilty to child
neglect for failing to obtain timely medical care for Lakeira.
Prosecutors withdrew a murder charge against him after medical examiners
could not pinpoint when his niece suffered the blow that ended her life.

In an interview with Hall in December, Calahan said her
brother-in-law was asleep when she lost her temper and shook Lakeira,
who had been crying, Hall testified. The baby died of blunt-force trauma two days later.

Judge Deborah V. Bryan sent Calahan's charge to a Circuit
Court grand jury, which will decide whether her case should go to trial
Aug. 1. She also faces two felony counts of child abuse against Lakeira and Levontae.

Calahan, who had moved to Brinkley, Ark., remains in custody without bond
in the Virginia Beach Correctional Center.

Joslin said most cases include some evidence from social media, but not to this magnitude.
"If someone purporting to be her hadn't got on Facebook,"
she said, "she wouldn't be wearing an orange jumpsuit and charged with
second-degree murder."

http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2012/5/11/facebook_messages_led_to_charges_in.htm

Commonwealth v. Julie M. Calahan; Mother Sentenced to 15 Years for Abuse of Child, Death of Infant

Tuesday, January 08, 2013 · 03:45 pm
Harvey L. Bryant, Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Virginia Beach, announced today that Julie M. Calahan, 24 years old, who previously resided in Brinkley, Arkansas, was sentenced today by Circuit Court Judge Edward W. Hanson Jr. for Voluntary Manslaughter and Child Abuse. Judge Hanson sentenced Calahan to twenty (20) years in prison with five (5) suspended leaving 15 to serve. The sentence was over twice the high-end of the recommended Virginia State Sentencing Guidelines.
Calahan pled guilty on August 14, 2012. Had this matter gone to trial, the Commonwealth’s evidence would have proved that in December 2008, Child Protective Services began an investigation after Julie Calahan’s 4-year-old son was brought to the hospital for severe bruises. After the investigation by CPS, the child returned home until April 8, 2009, when he was again brought to the hospital with inflicted injuries. This time, he had a ruptured intestine requiring surgery. He went into foster care when released from the hospital. An 11-month-old daughter, Lakeira, remained in the care of the Calahans. An uncle, Stephen Calahan, moved from Arkansas to assist Julie and her husband with the care of Lakeira.
On the morning of May 4, 2009, Stephen found Lakeira unresponsive. He waited about an hour before seeking medical treatment for Lakeira. She was eventually transported to the hospital and was pronounced dead two days later. Julie Calahan told investigating officers that Lakeira was fine in the morning and remained in the sole care of Stephen while Julie worked all day. Initial investigation led to the arrest of Stephen for murder and child neglect. After Stephen was in jail for more than seven (7) months awaiting trial, the Commonwealth’s Attorney assigned to the case moved to have the murder charge withdrawn due to inconclusive medical evidence regarding the time of the injuries. Stephen pled guilty to child neglect and was sentenced to one (1) year in prison for failure to seek medical treatment for Lakeira.
While Stephen’s case was pending, Julie and her husband moved to Arkansas. Approximately two years later, Julie Calahan told a friend over Facebook that she caused the injuries to her son and the death of Lakeira. This information was conveyed to detectives in Virginia Beach, who went to Arkansas twice to interview Julie. Julie ultimately admitted to shaking Lakeira multiple times, causing a fracture to Lakeira’s skull. Additionally, Julie admitted striking the 4-year-old and causing the injuries that led to his hospitalization and surgery approximately one month prior to Lakeira’s death.
“The detectives who persisted in pursuing this case are to be commended,” Bryant said. “Their efforts resulted in justice for Lakeira’s tragic, horrible death.”
The case was prosecuted by Associate Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael D. Defricke and Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney L. Diane Nelms. Please contact Macie Pridgen if additional information is desired.

http://www.vbgov.com/news/pages/selected.aspx?release=1199