NATHAN WISNIEWSKI - 3 Months (2008) - Crown Point (S of Gary) IN

Crown Point IN ---- After eight hours of deliberation, a jury found a
Hobart woman guilty of neglect of a child and battery in the death of her infant son.



The jury did not reach a verdict on the murder charges against Kimberly Amber Kelley.
Jurors began deliberating Tuesday afternoon on whether she
smothered her infant son or is a victim of a botched police investigation.
Kelley looked on during the seventh day of her trial as
prosecutors and defense lawyers argued for hours about whether to
believe her dramatic testimony Monday. She had denied she neglected
and ultimately killed 3-month-old Nathan Wisniewski.
Hobart police were called shortly after 5 a.m. Nov. 13, 2008, to
the 300 block of West Eighth Street, where they found the child's
arms stretched out, already in rigor mortis. The word "Mommy," from
an embroidered shirt he was wearing, had been impressed into his chest.
"This is a horrific case," Deputy Prosecutor Jamise Perkins told
jurors in closing arguments. With his arm out, "he was like a sacrificial lamb."
Kelley's defense lawyer, Teresa Hollandsworth, said Kelley has
been jailed and tormented for nearly two years for a crime she didn't commit.
She said the prosecution doesn't have physical evidence of
murder and police never focused on any other suspect.
"They want you to believe she's a drunken slut so she must be
guilty. You may not like Kim for her drinking or swearing or going
from boyfriend to boyfriend, but that doesn't make her a killer."
There is no dispute Kelley had an unwanted and difficult
pregnancy. She was on antidepressants and other treatments to avoid
a premature delivery, like the one that claimed an earlier child by a different father.
Kelley and the baby's father, Keith Wisniewski, became estranged
after Nathan's birth. He evicted her from his home and won
temporary court custody of the child less than two weeks before his death.
Kelley moved in with Kent Kreisher and David Kish, of Hobart,
and became Kreisher's lover. The three were drinking heavily the
night before Nathan was found dead.
Hollandsworth suggested either of the two men, who aren't
charged with any crimes, might have hurt the baby. Perkins said
neither had a motive, while Kelley did it to retaliate against the
father, who she called that morning.
"When she told Keith, 'What if Nathan died tonight?' she knew he
was already dead," Perkins said.
A sentencing date for Kelley has yet to be announced.