CALISTA SPRINGER - 16 yo (2008) - St Joseph County MI

A recently published Michigan Court of Appeals ruling regarding the
admission of hearsay evidence has prompted a one-week delaying in
hearing two motions in the case against Anthony and Marsha Springer on
charges stemming from the death of their daughter, 16-year-old Calista Springer.



Consideration of the motion in limine regarding
whether “hearsay” evidence should be allowed and a motion to quash the
criminal charges against the Springers - originally slated for St.
Joseph County Circuit Court on August 6^th - was reset for Monday (August 24^th).
However, Monday’s ten-minute proceeding yielded action by Circuit Court
Judge Paul Stutesman to adjourn the hearing again - until next Monday
(August 31^st) at 10 a.m.
Stutesman reported that an Appeals Court decision in
the case of The People versus Jovan DeKeith Smelley - published on
August 13^th - deals with the use of inadmissible hearsay
evidence and “is now binding law.” He said he advised both sides about
publication of the ruling by e-mail late last week and asked them to be
prepared to argue this case in light of the ruling.
Stutesman said he has read the ruling, but hasn’t
had an opportunity to review the case and the transcripts. He
expressed his willingness to grant additional time.
County Prosecutor John McDonough said the
prosecution has read through the ruling and was prepared to move
forward. He said, “We’re here this morning because the defense wasn’t
prepared on the last brief and we’ve got nearly a hundred witnesses.
We’ve got to start preparing for trial and, if there’s going to be
another adjournment, I ask that it be a very short adjournment.”
Stutesman said, “Briefs were filed, but not to the
extent that I was satisfied. All those briefs are now superseded by
this decision, which is a published decision which means it is binding.”
After saying, “I want to do this right,” Stutesman said, “I will grant a one-week adjournment.”
Anthony and Marsha Springer, the father and adoptive
mother of Calista, are charged with Felony Murder, Torture and Child
Abuse in the First Degree in connection with her death in a fire at the
family home in Centreville early last year. She was found dead,
chained to her bed, after the fire on February 27, 2008.
The trial of the Springers is scheduled to begin on October 27^th.

The trial of Anthony and Marsha Springer is slated to begin in Centreville on Tuesday (October 27th) with jury selection.
Both are charged with Felony Murder, Torture and Child Abuse in the
First Degree in the death of their daughter, 16-year-old Calista
Springer, in a fire at the family home in Centreville early last year.
She was found dead, chained to her bed, after the fire on February 27,
2008.
Jury selection will take place in the third-floor court room of the
Historic Courthouse while the trial itself will be held in the usual
St. Joseph County Circuit Court room setting in the Courts Building.

The attempt to seat a jury for the trial of Anthony and Marsha Springer in St. Joseph County Circuit Court has failed.
That was the word late Wednesday afternoon (October 28th) from the
office of Prosecuting Attorney John McDonough following a second day of
jury selection activity in Centreville.
According to the office, Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman will
send a request for a change of venue to the State Court Administrator’s
Office which will set a date and time for the trial in an alternate
location.
Anthony and Marsha Springer are charged with Felony Murder, Torture
and Child Abuse in the First Degree in the death of their daughter,
16-year-old Calista Springer, in a fire at the family home in
Centreville early last year. She was found dead, chained to her bed,
after the fire on February 27, 2008.
Felony Murder and Torture both carry penalties of up to life in
prison while the Child Abuse in the First Degree charge is a 15-year
felony.
The Springers entered “not guilty” pleas to the charges and have
remained free on $10,000 personal recognizance bonds as the legal
process moved forward.
Earlier this year, John Bush, the attorney for Anthony Springer, and
Victor Bland, the attorney for Marsha Springer, filed a motion for a
change of venue, arguing that their clients would not be able to get a
fair trial from a prospective jury pool selected from St. Joseph County
due to publicity surrounding the case. In response to the motion,
McDonough and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Erin Hahn said, “Justice
does not demand a change of venue to another county unless it is first
attempted here in St. Joseph since the Defendants have not met their
burden in showing actual bias or prejudice with regard to the potential
jury pool. “ During an August 6th hearing, Judge Stutesman said, “I
will reserve on the motion to change the venue because of pre-trial
publicity,” thus setting the stage for the jury selection process.

KALAMAZOO — One argument is that Anthony and Marsha Springer
were concerned parents who restrained their 16-year-old daughter to her
bed at night to keep her safe.

The other is that Calista
Springer’s confinement was just one piece of a long and intricate
puzzle of abuse unearthed when the teen died in a fire while chained to
her bed.

On Tuesday, nearly two years after the Feb. 27, 2008
blaze that destroyed the Springers’ Centreville home, a jury is
scheduled to begin hearing arguments and testimony it will use to
decide the Springer parents’ fates.

The couple are charged
with felony murder, torture and first-degree child abuse. They could
face up to life in prison if convicted but remain free on bond heading
into their trial.

St. Joseph County Circuit Judge Paul Stutesman
moved the case to Kalamazoo County in November after attempts to seat a
fair and impartial jury in Centreville failed. A jury of 12 Kalamazoo
County residents will now decide the case. Fourteen jurors — including
two alternates to be determined later — were seated during jury
selection Friday.

On the morning of the fire, police and
firefighters who responded to the Springers’ home, across the street
from the St. Joseph County courthouse, found Calista in her
second-floor bedroom with a dog choke chain around her waist, secured
to her bunk bed rail with plastic ties.

Her bed, police said,
had no blankets, sheets or pillows and she appeared to be small for her
age. After an autopsy, authorities said Calista had long hair on both
legs and on her armpits and that a distinct mark was found around her
waist from the chain.

Stutesman will preside over the Kalamazoo
proceedings in a second-floor courtroom normally occupied by Circuit
Judge Alexander C. Lipsey. Stutesman said local media outlets and
truTV, (formerly Court TV) have requested to be in the courtroom for
the case, which is expected to last up to two weeks.

The
original witness list presented to potential jurors in St. Joseph
County contained 84 names, including Calista’s two younger sisters.
Stutesman said last week that he doesn’t expect all of the witnesses on
the list to be called to testify.

St. Joseph County District
Judge William Welty, who after hearing testimony in April ordered
Anthony and Marsha Springer to stand trial, said at the time that the
case hinges on the question of whether the treatment of Calista was
meant to harm her or protect her.

As they did then, defense
attorneys Victor Bland and John Bush are likely to argue that the chain
used to restrain Calista to her bed at night was a safety measure. A
Michigan Department of Human Services worker who investigated the
Springers in 2004 testified in April that Marsha Springer told her the
restraint was for safety reasons and to keep Calista from getting up at
night and eating non-edible items in the home.

But St. Joseph
County Prosecutor John McDonough, who authorized the charges against
the Springers just two weeks after taking office in November 2008, has
argued that Calista was abused for years. According to earlier
testimony, the teen not only was chained to her bed, but was fed small
portions of food, was made to stand in a square inside her house and
was treated worse than her two younger sisters.

KALAMAZOO -- The Jury will hear more forensic evidence today as the
Calista Springer murder trial moves into its second day of testimony.
The parents of the 16 year old are charged with felony murder, torture
and child abuse for her death on February 27th, 2008.
In opening arguments Prosecutor John McDonough says he will call 60
witnesses to show that Anthony and Marsha Springer tortured and abused
the girl, chaining her to a bed and trapping her when their home caught
fire two years ago. Defense Attorney John Bush said they were only
trying to protect her from herself, that she had mental problems and
had to be restrained.
The first batch of witnesses were the first responders on the scene,
the pathologist, and others who participated in the investigation. They
are all establishing what happened. Explaining why it happened will
take a little longer. The trial could take two to three weeks.

CENTREVILLE -- Calista Springer slept her last night in a T-shirt and thin sweatpants, chained to a bed with no sheets, blankets or pillows, a Michigan State Police trooper testified Tuesday.
The new details emerged during a court hearing to assess whether Anthony and Marsha Springer should get custody of their two other daughters following Calista's death in a Feb. 27 house fire.
Calista Springer in her sixth-grade yearbook picture.

The hearing provided a new glimpse into Calista's life as police continue to investigate the fire and the circumstances that led the Springers to chain Calista to her bed. Anthony Springer has said the confinement was for Calista's safety because she was a "special-needs" child prone to wandering at night.
Trooper Trever Slater, who assisted fire investigators on the scene, testified he saw Calista's body in the bed with a dog choke collar around her waist that was secured to the bed rail with a plastic tie.
"I don't believe a person could actually break free of that on their own power," Slater said.
At the conclusion of the hearing in St. Joseph County Probate Court, referee Terry Evans ordered that Calista's sisters, ages 12 and 14, remain in the temporary custody of relatives. Anthony and Marsha Springer are scheduled to be back in court for further proceedings on March 20 before Probate Judge Thomas Shumaker.
The proceedings will ultimately determine the placement of Calista's sisters, which could range from returning them to their parents to terminating the Springers' parental rights.
The order entered Tuesday said reuniting the girls with their parents is the goal of the Michigan Department of Human Services "at the present time."
The purpose of the hearing was to determine custody of the sisters, but the testimony revolved around Calista and how she was treated.

The "abuse and neglect" petition filed by the county prosecutor's office alleged the Springers had "a long history" of confining Calista to her bed and that they "had a pattern of isolating Calista from those who made reports" to child-welfare workers.
After the hearing, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Chuck Herman would not say specifically how long Calista's parents confined her to her bed other than to state it was going on for "several years or more" before her death.
The Kalamazoo Gazette reported last week that a county sheriff's deputy contacted DHS in October 2004 after he received information that Calista's parents were tying her to a bed using a Velcro strap and a dog chain. DHS declined to say what action the agency took.
"When you secure a child to a bed that isn't able to get out, you better have a safety plan," Herman said in court Tuesday. "Apparently there was not. Something's rotten in Denmark."
Some of Tuesday's testimony revealed that Calista was treated differently than her two sisters.
For example, while her bed was devoid of comforts such as blankets, Slater testified Calista's sisters' beds were outfitted with sheets, comforters and pillows.
Annegret Remmert, a social-services specialist with DHS, testified Tuesday that the child-welfare agency began providing services to the Springers in 1995 because Calista and one of her sisters had high levels of lead in their blood. Since then, Remmert said DHS has offered counseling, money, transportation to doctors' appointments and "assessments" of Calista, among other things.
Anthony Springer has said his family had four to five prior contacts with child-welfare workers, but that his children have never been removed from the home. He also has acknowledged that the family turned down assistance from the agency in the past.
Anthony and Marsha Springer attended Tuesday's hearing but they did not speak.
Anthony Springer's attorney, Michael Mestelle, of Sturgis, and Marsha Springer's attorney, Kevin Kleidon, of Centreville, declined to comment for this story.
Slater said Tuesday the cause of the fire is undetermined. However, he said police believe the blaze started near a vacuum cleaner Marsha Springer said she was using just prior to the blaze. Police have no evidence the fire was intentionally set

KALAMAZOO — A coordinator with a St. Joseph County family
assistance program testified she reported Anthony and Marsha Springer
to Child Protective Services in 1999 after learning they had used a
belt to tie their daughter to a basement pole.

“They had told
us they were using a chair in the basement next to a pole with a belt
on the seat and they said they used that as a means of tethering her to
the pole,” said Pamela Wingard, a former Wraparound program coordinator
who worked with the Springers and their daughter Calista over two
school years.

Anthony
and Marsha Springer sit in the courtroom during a recess in their
trial. They are charged with felony murder, torture and child abuse in
the February 27, 2008 death of their daughter, Calista, in a fire.“It was a typical Michigan basement with block
walls, a dirt floor,” Wingard testified. “We discussed that it wasn’t
safe ... and to not do it again.”

Wingard’s testimony Wednesday came on the second day of the Springers’ murder trial in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.

Anthony
and Marsha Springer are charged with felony murder, torture and
first-degree child abuse in connection with Calista Springer’s death in
a Feb, 27, 2008 fire that destroyed the family’s Centreville home.
Firefighters found Calista, 16, chained to her bed after the flames
were extinguished.

St. Joseph County Circuit Judge Paul
Stutesman moved the case to Kalamazoo after an attempt to seat a fair
and impartial jury in Centreville failed.

The 10 witnesses
called Wednesday by St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough were an
array of people who had contact with Calista and her parents, from
service-agency employees like Wingard to Springer relatives to medical
professionals who evaluated Calista at different points in her life.

Anthony
Springer has previously said Calista was chained to her bed because she
was prone to wandering during the night. Defense attorneys contend
Calista was a “mildly retarded” child who required drastic measures as
she grew older in order to keep her from wandering and potentially
harming herself.

Wingard testified said she couldn’t recall why
the Springers said they were restraining Calista in 1999 but did say
that her agency gave the family a home security system because they
were concerned about Calista trying to leave or getting into things at
night. She said the agency also later provided a hook or latch to lock
Calista’s bedroom door at night after the Springers reported that
motion sensors placed in hallway as part of the security system
activated too easily.

Jeffrey Kaylor, a former psychologist who
treated Calista on four occasions from 1997 to 2002, reviewed several
of his reports, in which he said he determined Calista had learning and
behavioral difficulties and pervasive developmental disorder.

Kaylor
said his reports noted that Calista appeared to be well-cared for but
that her behavioral issues included poor judgment, no fear of strangers
and a lack of impulse control, and that he recommended 24-hour
supervision.

Despite those observations, Kaylor testified that
Calista was well behaved when she visited his office and that he never
told her parents to lock her in her room or restrain her to her bed.

Jurors
on Wednesday also heard from Linda Evans, a doctor who treated Calista
and at least one of her younger sisters in 1995. Evans said that during
a visit that year, tests of Calista and her sister found both had
elevated levels of lead in their systems.

Evans said she
recalled telling their parents that the girls would need further
testing but that Anthony Springer was “very reluctant” to have those
tests done. The doctor said she tried to educate the family about
dangers of lead poisoning and warned them about the link between lead
and development of learning disabilities in the children.

“I remember being very frustrated that the parents were not compliant with my requests,” Evans testified.

Testimony was to resume at 9 a.m. today. Stutesman has said the trial, which began Tuesday, is expected to last about two weeks.

KALAMAZOO — Calista Springer’s message to the girls she called
friends in elementary school was always the same: Her home was no place
she wanted to be.

One after the other, the eight girls took the
stand Friday in the murder trial of Calista’s parents and told jurors
how Calista was treated differently than her sisters, came to school
unkempt and in the same clothes and wasn’t allowed to spend time with
them outside of school.

And seven of the friends recalled Calista telling them of a chain used to restrain her to the bed where she slept at night.

“She
would tell me about her stepmother tying her to her bed and not feeding
her and abusing her,” said Malinda Stauffer, 16, who attended fifth and
sixth grade with Calista at Centreville Elementary School.

Later
in Malinda’s testimony, St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough had
her read to the jury two letters Calista wrote and gave to Malinda when
they attended school together.

“I gave my stepmother a good long
complaint on how she treats me differently,” Stauffer said as she read
from one of Calista’s letters, which was written in red crayon. “... I
get hooked up to my bed with plastic-tie twisties. I have to put the
chain under my blanket. ... She is putting me deeper into my grave, and
when she puts me to bed I feel blue and start crying.”

Malinda
was the last witness called Friday by McDonough as testimony in the
trial wrapped up for the week in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.
Testimony in the trial is scheduled to continue Tuesday, and the trial
is expected to last through the week.

Calista’s parents, Anthony
and Marsha Springer, are charged with felony murder, torture and
first-degree child abuse in connection with Calista’s death in a Feb.
27, 2008, fire that destroyed the Springers’ Centreville home.

The case was moved to Kalamazoo in November after an attempt to seat an impartial jury in Centreville failed.

The
testimony of Calista’s friends Friday was part of a continuing theme
McDonough tried has delivered to jurors since the trial started
Tuesday.

Anthony Springer has said his daughter was chained to
her bed because she was prone to wandering during the night, and the
couple’s defense attorneys contend Calista was “mildly retarded” and
required drastic measures as she grew older to keep her from
potentially
harming herself.

But McDonough has presented
dozens of witnesses, including former teachers, friends, counselors and
state child welfare employees who said Calista had some behavioral
issues, like stealing small items, but otherwise tried hard in school
and had friends.

Calista also, according to this week’s
testimony, told several people that she was being chained to her bed at
night, including a Child Protective Services employee, a teacher,
counselor and friends.

“I remember that at school she was
usually happy, but she would tell stuff,” said Katy Meyer, who attended
fifth and sixth grade with Calista at Centreville Elementary School.
“She said that she was chained to her bed.”

Besides the friends
who testified Friday, jurors also heard from Malinda’s mother, Deb
Stauffer, and Beth Ganger, the mother of another friend. Both women
testified that they made reports to Child Protective Services after
being told by their daughters and directly by Calista that she was
being abused.

“She said that her parents chain her up at night,” Beth Ganger testified Friday.
Ganger,
who said she filed two Child Protective Services reports over alleged
abuse of Calista, recalled a time when Calista was in sixth grade that
Ganger’s daughter brought Calista to the family’s home after school.

Ganger
said that on the day Calista came to her house, news that a school
principal was coming to take her home turned the girl into “a nervous
wreck” about going home.

“She was frantically trying to express
what was happening in the home, and she was in a full panic when she
knew (the principal) was coming to pick her up.”

Deb Stauffer
said she held onto the letters that Calista wrote to her daughter and
reported their contents to Diane Kamphues, a counselor at Centreville
Elementary School. She also said that she made a complaint to Child
Protective Services when Calista was in sixth grade after Calista told
her she was being chained to her bed at night.

“I reported it to the school,” Stauffer said. “Nobody seemed to care so I kept (the letters).”

Under
questioning from McDonough Friday morning, Kamphues said she made a
report about possible neglect of Calista to Child Protective Services
when Calista attended Centreville Elementary School.

Kamphues
said that when Calista enrolled at the school in 2004, her parents
shared a psychiatric report with her that said Calista had difficulty
telling the truth and would steal.

Kamphues said that during
her time at the school, Calista would take things like gel pens, lip
gloss and pencils, among other things, and then would deny taking them.


Still, Kamphues said Calista would often willingly give any
items back after being confronted, and she described her as a girl who
smiled from “ear to ear” when praised.

And Kamphues said at one
point she allowed students to hold a party in her office for Calista
where they gave her presents, including items like candy bars and hair
ties.

“I felt that Calista she wanted desperately to have friends, and some of the things she took she took because she didn’t have.”

Kamphues said that after her sixth-grade year, Calista no longer attended school and was instead home-schooled.

Other
school officials who testified Friday said that Calista told them
during the 2004-05 school year that she was being chained to her bed at
night.

Special-education teacher Diane Balyeat told jurors she
filed a report with Child Protective Services after talking with
Calista, and paraprofessional Marilyn Lafler said she passed the
information along to a school counselor who informed her “social
services was already involved” with Calista and her family.

“Calista
told me that she was chained to her bed,” Lafler testified. “… She said
she was chained to her bed every night. It was wrapped around her
waist. I asked her what kind of chain it was, and she said a dog chain.”

Lafler
testified that Calista came to school with dirty clothes and unkempt
hair and was treated differently than her two younger sisters.

“They
had their hair brushed, and their clothes were clean,” Lafler said of
Calista’s siblings. “If you put them side by side, I would have thought
they were from different families.”

The Detroit News Wants to Regulate Homeschooling

http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/mi/200912180.asp

"It is unjustified to try to paint homeschoolers as child abusers when in both cases Mr. French cites it is admitted that these families were not actually homeschooling."

KALAMAZOO — A psychologist called Tuesday by attorneys for
Anthony and Marsha Springer said that children with a developmental
disorder the couples’ daughter was diagnosed with prior to her death
can drain families of their energy.

“We call them energy
vampires because they suck the energy from everybody,” Dr. Susan
Carter, a clinical child psychologist, said of children diagnosed with
pervasive developmental disorder.

Carter was the first witness
called by defense attorneys Victor Bland and John Bush as they began
presenting their case to jurors Tuesday afternoon in Kalamazoo County
Circuit Court.
The Springers are charged with felony murder, torture
and first-degree child abuse in connection with a Feb. 27, 2008, fire
that killed their 16-year-old daughter, Calista, and destroyed the
family’s Centreville home. Firefighters found Calista chained to her
bed after the flames were extinguished.

Testimony was scheduled
to resume this morning with more testimony from witnesses called by the
defense. Bland and Bush have said Anthony Springer may testify before
the trial concludes.

Carter’s statements Tuesday followed the
testimony last week of Jeffrey Kaylor, a former psychologist who
evaluated Calista on four occasions from 1997 to 2002 and determined
that she had pervasive developmental disorder.

Carter
testified that the disorder stems a child’s brain not developing
properly in certain areas and is most often brought on by “parental
deprivation or neglect.”

Children with the disorder often have
fits of rage, do not sleep well at night and often reject affection and
relationships with their own family members, Carter testified. The
doctor also said that children with the disorder have trouble with
lying and stealing and resort to practices such as self-mutilation and
manipulation.

“The lying is a form of manipulation and as these
children mature they develop language-based skills to get their needs
met,” Carter said. “They’re very good at getting people to feel sorry
for them by making things up.”

Under questioning from St. Joseph
County Prosecutor John McDonough, Carter said she did not diagnose
Calista with pervasive developmental disorder and never treated her.
She also, when asked about the use of restraints, called the practice
“inhumane” and something that should be “a last resort” when utilized
an in-patient setting such as a hospital.

Calling Carter to
testify appeared to be part of the Springers’ attorneys attempt to show
jurors that their clients had to take drastic measures to restrain
Calista to keep her from harming herself or others.

Detective
Sgt. Mike Scott, of the Michigan State Police, said Marsha Springer
told him that Calista was restrained because she “couldn’t be trusted”
and was prone to getting out of her bed at night and getting into
medications and sharp objects. Scott, the lead investigator of the
fire, said Marsha Springer described her adoptive daughter as a
special-needs child whom she decided to home school because of
difficulties in the regular school setting, saying “she was getting
calls from the school every day.”

During the interview, which
lasted more than an hour, Scott said that Marsha Springer told him that
the Springers had only been using the dog choke chain for a few days
prior to the fire because Calista had broken an alarm device and that
the dog chain had previously been used on a family dog.

“So instead of using the chain on the dog, they used it on Calista?” McDonough asked.
“Yes sir,” Scott said.

Scott
said that Marsha Springer told him the alarm device that Calista broke
was one of several methods the family used to keep track of her before
turning to the chain. She said the family also tried baby monitors,
rubber bands and “twisty ties,” according to the detective.

Scott
testified that he did find an alarm on Calista’s bed and tested it at
the White Pigeon state police post. A video of the test, which jurors
viewed, showed that the alarm was operable.

Under questioning
from Bland, Scott testified that Marsha told him that her daily routine
included getting Calista’s two younger sisters up and ready for school
before sitting down for coffee and letting Calista “catch up on her
sleep.” It was after her coffee that she would use a pair of
needle-nose pliers to free Calista from her bed and the two would spend
their mornings sewing.

Scott also told Bland that Marsha
Springer became emotional several times during the interview, at one
point telling the detective, “What does it really matter? My daughter
is gone. I want her back.”

Following Scott’s testimony,
attorneys for the Springers argued that the prosecution failed to prove
the elements in the case necessary for guilty verdicts and asked the
judge to declare their clients not guilty.

St. Joseph County
Circuit Judge Paul Stutesman denied the motion for a directed verdict.
“It will be up to the jury … to decide those issues and not the court
to make that decision,” the judge said.

KALAMAZOO — Calista Springer was quick to lie and steal and
prone to self mutilation and fits of rage aimed at her family, her
aunt, Barbara Sawyer, testified.

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough asked Sawyer if she felt it was appropriate to chain a child to their bed.

“Since I knew (Calista), I knew how deadly she was, I would have to say yes,” Sawyer responded.

Sawyer,
the sister of Marsha Springer and brother-in-law Anthony Springer, was
among witnesses called Wednesday by defense attorneys as testimony
wound down in the trial of Anthony and Marsha Springer.

Testimony
was expected to conclude today in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.
Defense attorneys have said they may call Anthony Springer to the
witness stand before the case is handed over to jurors.

Anthony
and Marsha Springer are charged with felony murder, torture and
first-degree child abuse in connection with a Feb. 27, 2008, fire that
killed their 16-year-old daughter Calista and destroyed the family’s
Centreville home. Firefighters found Calista chained to her bed after
the fire was extinguished.


Sawyer testified that she had known Calista since birth and was
familiar with her birth mother before Marsha Springer married Anthony
Springer and adopted Calista. She said Calista’s behavior worsened as
she got older, that she often put odd objects in her mouth, such as gum
from an ashtray, and that she would eat cat food and treats taken from
a family dog.

Sawyer
said Calista often pinched and bit herself and pulled her own hair out
if she disagreed with an instruction from her parents. She also
recalled incidents where Calista was destructive with her clothes and
violent with her two younger sisters.

“I give Marsha all the
credit,” Sawyer said. “I don’t know how she did it. To me, (Calista)
was deadly … I was afraid of Calista.”


Courtney
Springer wipes away tear as she testifies during
the murder trial of
her parents for in the death of her older sister, Calista.


Sawyer
was among four relatives of the Springers to testify Wednesday. One of
Calista’s two younger sisters, Courtney Springer, testified that the
chain used to restrain Calista to her bed had only been in use for two
days prior to the fatal blaze.

Speaking in a soft voice that at times was nearly inaudible, she said the chain was used after a bed alarm had stopped working.

Courtney
said the alarm and chain used to restrain Calista were a means of
keeping her from getting up in the middle of the night to rummage for
food or steal money or other things.

“She couldn’t fall asleep
and stay asleep and she’d be up in the middle of the night singing or
talking,” said Courtney, 16, who admitted to being scared of her older
sister. “She’d get up in the middle of the night and steal stuff.”

Courtney
also said that her parents provided her older sister with blankets and
pillows but that Calista often knocked them onto the floor. Michigan
State Police investigators testified last week that Calista’s bed was
devoid of bedding after the fire, while the beds of her two sisters had
sheets, pillows and blankets.

“We had plenty of blankets,” Courtney said. “She kicked it off.”

Courtney
also testified that letters entered into evidence by the prosecution
that described Calista’s home life and alleged abuse were not written
by Calista.

“That’s not my sister’s handwriting ... so I’m pretty sure it’s not her letters,” she said.

Both
Courtney and Sawyer, as well as well as other family members and
friends and acquaintances of the Springers called Wednesday by defense
attorneys Victor Bland and John Bush, said Calista was not treated
differently than her younger siblings and that she had nice clothes and
was fed adequately. That testimony contradicted prosecution witnesses
who testified Calista was treated differently than her sisters, often
wore dirty clothes and came to school unbathed and without lunch.

Courtney
at times seemed to spar with McDonough, who at one point asked her
whether she remembered speaking with him last year about the case.

“I remember pretty much sitting there ignoring everything that you said,” Courtney responded.

“Do you remember telling me that I was the enemy?” the prosecutor asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

McDonough
also asked Courtney about a 2004 interview with Child Protective
Services investigator Patricia Skelding and whether she remembered
telling Skelding that Calista was chained to her bed at night.

“I’m
pretty sure I only said restrained,” Courtney said, after McDonough
showed her a copy of Skelding’s report recounting her statements.

Social-service
professionals, school workers and Calista’s friends have testified that
Calista told them in recent years that she was chained to her bed.

Jurors in the Springer murder trial will have a long weekend to mull
over what they have heard and seen over the last two weeks before they
will be asked to come up with a verdict.
Anthony and Marsha Springer are charged with felony murder, child
abuse and torture for chaining Calista Springer, their 16-year-old
special needs child, to her bed. She died when the house caught fire
two years ago this month. Prosecutor John McDonough claims somebody has
to pay, and the Springer’s are responsible.
But defense attorney Victor bland says to be guilty in the eyes of
the law, they had to want Calista to die. All they wanted to do was to
protect the self-destructive child from harming herself and others.
The jury met briefly Friday afternoon before the Judge sent them
home for the weekend, giving them instructions not to talk to anyone
about the case and to avoid the media. Deliberations will resume
Tuesday morning.

Kalamazoo, Mich. —

Jurors in the Springer trial are back to work today for a second day of deliberation in Kalamazoo.
The Springers, Anthony and Marsha, face separate charges of felony
murder, torture and child abuse in the Feb. 27, 2008, house fire that
claimed the life of their daughter, Calista Springer.
Tuesday morning on Day 9 of the Springer trial, deliberations began
late when one juror could not be present because of a family emergency.
One of two alternate jurors excused on Friday was called in.
At 11 a.m., the 12 jury members returned to the courtroom with several requests for Circuit Judge Paul Stutesman.
Jurors asked to see the dog choke chain that was found wrapped
around Calista’s waist, zip-ties, a bed alarm and home videos. They
also asked to review several previously recorded testimonies.
Jurors wanted to listen again to four hours of testimony by Anthony
Springer, and testimony by two Child Protective Services caseworkers,
Cindy Bare and Patricia Skelding.
There was a new face in the courtroom as Tuesday’s deliberations were under way.
Norma Swegles, Calista’s birth mother, traveled from Ashland County, Ohio, to await the verdict.
Swegles and her daughters, Jacquelyn Smith and Amanda Swegles, are staying with relatives in Sturgis this week.
Swegles spent most of the day sitting with Beverly Nicholas of
Centerville, and two of Calista’s former friends, Cristin Glick and
Kathy Ganger.
Beverly Nicholas is known in Centreville for her church activities,
including the Wednesday night soup suppers at Centreville United
Methodist Church. She knew Calista.
Cristin and Kathy took Tuesday off from classes at Centreville High
School in hopes of being in the courtroom when the verdicts are read.
They were wishing for a snow day today so they could return to the
courtroom.
Swegles left her two daughters with relatives as she went to court.
She said she still works two jobs in Ohio to support her children. She has a third daughter, who is 20, who remained in Ohio.
Swegles said she recently finished building a house for her family. It was a project she has been working on for several years.
All three of her daughters want to further their education, Swegles said.
One daughter, who is legally blind, plans to study ophthalmology. She wants to help others who are born blind.
Another daughter is preparing for a career in elementary education. The third daughter wants to be a chef.
Six months after Calista’s death, Swegles and her daughters visited
St. Joseph County to attend a candlelight vigil for Calista. The
girls had never had the opportunity to meet Calista.
Last May, the family returned to Centreville for a balloon launch in memory of what would have been Calista’s 18th birthday.

The jury in the Springer trial has returned with a verdict.
The jury found Anthony and Marsha Springer not guilty on
the charges of first and second degree murder,
but guilty of the charges of torture and first degree child abuse.
Anthony and Marsha Springer were accused
of murder, torture, and child abuse in the death of their daughter,
16-year-old Calista Springer.
Calista was found chained to her bed in the family's burned-out Centreville home in February of 2008.
The jury had a lot of trouble coming to
a unanimous decision, even asking about different charges at one point,
but after nine days of deliberations, they reached a verdict.
Even though the Springers were not
convicted of murder, they could spend the rest of their lives in
prison. As of 2006, torture is a crime that can carry a life sentence.
The maximum sentence for a first degree child abuse conviction is
fifteen years in prison.

CENTREVILLE — Desiree Tucker will always wonder if 16-year-old
Calista Springer was “asleep or awake” when the heavy smoke began to
fill her lungs.

“This trial will affect me for the rest of my
life,” said Tucker, as six of her fellow jurors shook their heads in
agreement late Tuesday. “All of the evidence will stick with me. There
was even the smell of the fire on the evidence.”

Tucker was one
of seven jury members who addressed the media Tuesday after finding
Marsha and Anthony Springer guilty of torture and first-degree child
abuse, but not guilty of felony murder, in the 2008 death of their
daughter Calista.

Firefighters found Calista dead in her
upstairs bedroom, chained to her bed, after a fire that gutted the
family’s Centreville house was extinguished.

The jury deliberated for nine days before reaching their verdicts late
Tuesday afternoon. The jurors were drawn from Kalamazoo County after
St. Joseph County Judge Paul Stutesman moved the trial. However, the
jury was transferred to Centreville, the St. Joseph County seat, as
deliberations dragged on.

The jurors who spoke Tuesday said they
did not believe claims by the Springers that Calista’s chaining had
been limited to just several days before the fatal fire.

They
also suggested the defense had overplayed its characterization of
Calista as a difficult, special-needs child who stole things and lied
about being abused at home. Anthony Springer testified that she was
restrained because she represented a danger to herself and other family
members.

The jurors leveled harsh criticism at the St. Joseph County Department of Human Services’ child protection unit.

“They
failed Calista,” said Jessica Sundberg, a stay-at-home mother,
referring to testimony that DHS workers had received multiple reports
alleging Calista’s mistreatment in the years leading up to the fire.
“They should have been up there with the Springers (on trial).”

“These
people (protective services staff) knew about the restraining, they
knew about it and didn’t stop it,” added Marcia Abegg, an insurance
claims representative. “That was very hard to accept.”

The jurors said a unanimous verdict on the child abuse charge was reached after two days.
“We
could see a picture of two years being missing from Calista’s life,”
said Esther DeYoung, a hospital human resources worker, referring to
the time following the girl’s exit from public schools and before her
death.

Melissa Dekoff, a waitress/bartender, said she imagined Calista as “a challenging child, but not as bad as we were told.”

“She was a little girl,” Tucker added. “That needs to be said. She was different, but she was not less.”

Deliberations on the torture charges were more challenging, the jurors agreed.

“There’s a lot of emotion in that word,” said Jessica Hurst, a photographer.

But
after nine days of deliberation, jurors said the eight women and four
men didn’t believe the prosecution had demonstrated the intent
necessary to find the Springers guilty of felony murder.

“It wasn’t all black and white. There were a lot of grays,” Dekoff said.

Several
jurors said they were “shocked and disappointed” that Prosecutor John
McDonough did not cross-examination Anthony Springer after Springer
took the stand for the defense.

Jessica Sundberg said Calista’s father impressed jurors as “bright, articulate and educated.”

Marsha Springer did not take the stand.

Several said they had wanted to hear Marsha Springer testify, but she did not.

The
jurors said they would have liked more information on testimony
surrounding a fire extinguisher Marsha Springer told police she
attempted to use to initially control the fire. Investigators said they
were unable to locate any fire extinguishers in the burned-out house or
on the grounds following the fire.

Another loose end was the
dosage of Benadryl, an over-the-counter allergy medication sometimes
used as a sleeping aid, that was found in Calista’s body. Dr. Stephen
Cohle, a pathologist at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, testified
during the trial that the amount of Benadryl found in Calista’s body
would equate to six to eight tablets.

“It gives me comfort hoping she was asleep,” Hurst said.

A southwestern Michigan couple convicted of torture and child abuse in connection with the death of
their teenage daughter who died in a house fire while chained to her bed is
expected to be sentenced.
Anthony and Marsha Springer face up to life in prison for torture and up to 15 years for
first-degree child abuse when they are sentenced today in a St. Joseph County courtroom.
After nine days of deliberation, a jury in February acquitted
the couple of murder but convicted them of torture and child abuse.
The Springers were charged in the February 2008 death of 16-year-old Calista Springer.
Her father said Calista had special needs and the tethering
was necessary to keep her from leaving her bedroom and their Centreville home at night.

There’s no doubt the state of Michigan failed Calista Springer but the
abuse she suffered came solely at the hands of her parents.

That was the conclusion of St. Joseph County Circuit Judge Paul Stutesman
just before he sentenced Anthony and Marsha Springer to lengthy prison sentences for torture
and first-degree child abuse of their daughter Calista.

“There’s plenty of blame to go around for everybody,” Stutesman said as
the spectators in the packed gallery watched intently. “I think it’s
fair to say the state of Michigan failed you and your family, clearly.
Those charged to protect her did not do their jobs.

“We’re here today not because of something they did though, but because they didn’t
protect her from you.”

Stutesman leveled the harshest sentence against Anthony Springer, 47, ordering him to serve 25 to 50 years in
prison for torture and 10 to 15 years for child abuse. The judge
sentenced Marsha Springer, 40, to 225 months (18 years, 9 months) to 50 years for torture and 95 months to 15 years for child abuse.

Their sentences will run concurrently.

A jury convicted the Springers in February on the afore-mentioned
charges, but acquitted them of murder. They were charged after Calista
was killed in a fire at their Centreville home on Feb. 27, 2008.

Firefighters found the 16-year-old restrained to her bed with a dog choke chain that
was tightly wrapped around her waist.

The sentence handed down by Stutesman against Anthony Springer for torture exceeded state
sentencing guidelines that called for Springer to serve a minimum of 135
months in prison and a maximum of 225 months. Among his reasons for the
sentencing departure were that the state guidelines did not “give
weight to the criminal activity that took place here,” the judge said.

“This was not one single incident but numerous incidents that occurred over years,” Stutesman said.

The judge said he was giving Anthony Springer a longer sentence than his wife because it was Anthony who
devised, and implemented, the plan to chain Calista to her bed at night.

Stutesman reserved most of his remarks for Anthony Springer who, during a lengthy
statement to the court, said he was sorry for Calista’s death but riled
against a conglomerate of state agencies and the Centreville community
who he contended failed Calista and his family.

“What we did may have been wrong and I still question that every day,” Anthony Springer
said, often fighting back tears. “We were at fault for her dying in the
fire ... but it was not all just on our own.

“This community is afraid to look itself in the mirror because it’s afraid to see that it
failed to help our family,” he added. “In return, it’s more than happy
to evict us so that it can sleep with a clear conscience at night.
Society and the system that we have now are perhaps at fault as much as we are.”

The Michigan Department of Human Services began
investigating allegations of abuse against the Springers in 1997. Among
the multiple complaints the agency received was a report in 2004 that
Calista was being chained to her bed at night.

At trial, a former DHS supervisor testified that the 2004 investigation was closed without
any action taken, a decision she described as a “failure” on her part.

Anthony Springer also spoke out against his mother, Suzanne Langdon, who gave a
victim-impact statement during the hearing. And he accused prosecutors
of trying to “destroy” his family and said the Springers were simply a
“scapegoat” for a broken system.

“The point is, the system failed Calista — it failed this family and it failed seriously,” he said. “Our
sorrow has never diminished in two years. We have to live with our
choices. That’s our punishment.”

Marsha Springer, who sat silently and in tears for most of Friday’s hearing, broke down as she
spoke to Stutesman Friday and apologized repeatedly for what happened to Calista.

“Calista was my daughter and it was an accident,” she
said. “My other two girls (and) my husband have been going through hell
since my daughter has been dead ... I will carry this with me for the
rest of my life and I am very sorry, your honor.”

Anthony Springer’s attorney, John Bush, told Stutesman Friday that the
sentencing of Anthony Springer and his wife was the most troubling he’s
ever had to prepare for. Both Bush and Marsha Springer’s attorney,
Victor Bland, asked Stutesman not to exceed from the sentencing
guidelines, which called for Marsha Springer to serve 57 months to 95
months for child abuse and 135 to 225 months for torture.

The Springers’ attorneys contended, much like they did during the eight-day
trial, that the chaining of Calista was done as a means of protection
and not harm. At trial, the defense painted Calista as a troubled child
with special needs who was prone to fits of rage, stealing and wandering
the house at night.

“I think they made mistakes maybe in how
they tried to deal with this situation but the situation with Calista
was real and it had to be dealt with in some way,” Bland told the judge
Friday. “We can argue if there were better ways ... There probably was. I
think the overwhelming issue is, the community knew about this, (the
Michigan Department of Human Services) knew about this and certainly the
schools knew about this.

“Do they have to take some responsibility for what has been a very unfortunate result? Yes.”
St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough countered Bland and Bush Friday
arguing that Calista was abused for years and subjected to a daily
schedule that included being chained to her bed, denied food and being
treated differently than her two younger sisters. It was McDonough who
asked Stutesman to exceed the sentencing guidelines for both of the
Springers.

“Today, we heard the excuses, the reasons, the
fingerpointing, the lack of taking accountability for his actions — to
blame everyone but himself,” McDonough said of Anthony Springer.

The four-week trial for
Anthony and Marsha Springer cost St. Joseph County more than
$21,000, which likely won’t be the final bottom line.

The
itemized report presented this week to the St. Joseph County Board of
Commissioners includes reimbursement to witnesses, juror fees,
prosecution expenses and other costs, but doesn’t contain any expenses
leading up to the trial or related to employee compensation. It also
notes that further costs are expected to be incurred for transcripts and
expenses associated with likely appeals of the Springers’ convictions.

A
jury in February found the Springers guilty of torture and child abuse,
but acquitted them of murder, in connection with the 2008 death of
their 16-year-old daughter, Calista, in a fire while chained to her bed.
Anthony Springer was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison, and
Marsha Springer to at least 18 years, 9 months.

A breakdown of
the trial-related expenses shows the largest cost was $13,496 paid for
juror compensation and mileage. Other costs, according to the report,
were:

• $2,735: Paid to expert witnesses.
  
• $2,568:
  Accommodations at the Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites, adjacent to the
  Kalamazoo County Courthouse, for Prosecutor John McDonough. The trial
  was moved to Kalamazoo after an unbiased jury could not be seated in St.
  Joseph County. Most of the jury deliberations took place back in
  Centreville.
  
• $877: Fees paid to more than 40 witnesses.
  
• $695:
  Mileage and parking for John Bush, court-appointed attorney for Marsha
  Springer.
  
• $633, Mileage and parking for court employees,
  including St. Joseph County Circuit Judge Paul Stutesman.
  
• $252:
  Cost of five days of lunches for jurors from Angelo's Pizzeria in
  Centreville.
  
• $160: Paid to St. Joseph County Transportation
  Authority for round-trip transportation of jurors from Kalamazoo to
  Centreville and back during jury deliberations in Centreville.
  

Kathy Cowlishaw had tears in her eyes Saturday as she released a pair of
pink balloons and watched them float serenely into the sky.
The Seattle-area resident recognized the tragedy that Calista Springer
endured could just as easily have been experienced by her 23-year-old
niece, Cierra.
“I spent 16 years fighting social service agencies and judges in three
states before I was finally given custody of Cierra,” the 53-year-old
Cowlishaw said. “When I heard about Calista Springer, I felt an
immediate connection.”
Cowlishaw was one of about 50 people who attended a low-key party that
would have celebrated Springer’s 19th birthday. The event was organized
by Centreville High School juniors Katie Ganger and Cristen Glick. The
two had befriended Springer when they were in elementary school.
In addition to the balloon launch at the onset of the program, the
gathering featured hot dogs, chips, drinks, cake and dozens of photos of
Springer displayed by her paternal grandmother, Suzanne Langdon.
Ganger said she and Glick are committed to making sure Springer’s
memory is not forgotten.
“It was an emotional week for us, knowing we’re celebrating the
birthday of someone who couldn’t be here,” she said. “I don’t want
people to forget Calista, but I also don’t want what happened to her to
be something that happens to other children, too.”
After eating, birthday-party guests went to the Centreville cemetery
to visit Springer’s gravesite. The group sang “Happy Birthday,” a few
people left some mementos and many lingered around the site and shared
stories.
St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough was quick to recognize
Ganger and Glick for their devotion to Springer.
“They’re true friends to Calista and hopefully this event serves as a
reminder that what happened to Calista will not be tolerated … it is
unacceptable,” McDonough said.
Sturgis resident Tami Hargett has edited and posted a number of
Springer-related clips on the social-networking Web site, YouTube. She
said she looked at Saturday’s event as an opportunity to celebrate
Springer’s life and commemorate a special anniversary.
“She’s not here physically but she’s here spiritually to enjoy this
birthday party,” Hargett said. “Calista’s gone but she will never be
forgotten.”
Cowlishaw, meanwhile, had followed the Springer trial on cable
television and knew she had to attend Saturday’s event. She took a
vacation day Friday and flew into Chicago, rented a car, attended the
party and flew home Sunday.
Cowlishaw said Cierra’s story had a happier ending than Calista’s did,
but there was no reason for things to end for Calista the way they did,
she said.
“The message that drove me to do what I did for my niece is the same
that for Calista … you may be different but you are never, ever less of a
person than anybody else,” Cowlishaw said, noting her niece was
diagnosed with pervasive development disorder.
Springer’s parents, Anthony and Marsha, were found guilty of torture
and first-degree child abuse. They were sentenced to prison and started
serving their terms late last month.
A balloon-release and memorial took place in February, on the date
Springer died in a house fire in 2008. She was found restrained to her
bed by a dog chain.

Anthony and Marsha Springer are petitioning the St. Joseph County courts
to appoint public defenders to help them with their appeals. The couple
faces long prison sentences after being convicted of child abuse and
torture, for chaining their teenage daughter, Calista, to her bed
because of what they claimed were behavior problems. She died when
their home caught fire in Centreville and she could not escape.

The family of Calista Springer cannot sue the state for her death, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.


Springer's grandmother, Suzanne Langdon, acting as a representative of Calista's estate, sued the Michigan Department of Human Services and St. Joseph County Child Protective Services in October 2010, asserting that state workers failed to protect Calista from her parents, which resulted in her death.


Calista was 16 when she was found chained to her bed in an upstairs room in her family's Centreville home following a February 2008 house fire.


The appeals court combined Springer's case with that of Nicholas Daniel Braman, whose estate also sued child protective services workers after Braman's father killed Nicholas, himself and his wife in October 2007 in Montcalm County. In both cases, the court ruled that the children's estates could not sue state workers for allegedly improperly acting upon allegations of abuse.



Read the 11-page opinion issued Thursday here.


"Although plaintiffs recited several failures by the employee defendants to comply with their official CPS investigation policies and guidelines, these failures merely prove the state's failure to act, not that it was acting pursuant to a mandatory policy of inaction," the appeals court ruling says.



"Plaintiffs do not point to any official policy or custom that mandated CPS investigators to improperly investigate the abuse allegations against the decedents' parents or to fail to protect the decedents," the opinion reads.


State workers found "insufficient evidence" to substantiate allegations made against Springer's and Braman's parents, and had no basis to remove the children from their homes, according to the court.


"While the facts of these cases are indeed tragic, this is not an appropriate case in which to impose a damage remedy on the state for a state constitutional due process violation, as no violation can be established," the opinion says.



Calista's grandmother filed three separate lawsuits in October 2010, one in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, one in the state Court of Claims in Lansing, and a third in St. Joseph County Circuit Court. Each demand jury trials and seek awards “in excess of $75,000.”

The court filings provided information from Michigan State Police records about abuse and neglect complaints that Langdon said were filed by family members, teachers, a mental-health worker, friends and acquaintances.


The suits claimed St. Joseph County protective services caseworker Patricia Skelding and supervisor Cynthia Bare failed to adequately respond to documented abuse from Calista's parents, Anthony and Marsha Springer. Langdon's federal suit also named as defendants former state DHS director Marianna Udow; her chief deputy, Laura Champagne; and former state manager of DHS Child Protective Services programs Ted Forrest.


A jury in February 2010 found Anthony and Marsha Springer guilty of torture and child abuse in Calista's death. They were each sentenced to prison terms.



Allegations of abuse and neglect against the Springers began in April 1995 and included accusations of lead poisoning, untreated burns, physical and emotional abuse, restraint by ropes, and being locked in her bedroom.

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2012/03/calista_springers_family_cant.html