KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A couple found guilty for the death of a 4-year-old child will likely spend decades in prison after losing both of their sentencing appeals last week.
36-year-olds Kelly Ballinger and her boyfriend Matthew Longenecker both had their sentences upheld by the Michigan Court of Appeals on February 18th, for the murder of Ballinger’s daughter Deseray Thompson.
Thompson was found dead from asphyxiation at their Mount Olivet home while being wrapped in blankets and duct tape by the two for a two week period on July 9th, 2017. When the two discovered that she had stopped breating they called 9-1-1, and arriving paramedics attempted CPR but were unable to revive her.
A report by forensic pathologist Dr. Joseph Prahlow found that Deseray suffered numerous bruises, lacerations, and blunt force injuries around her body including a skull fracture.
Days later they were both charged with felony murder and first degree child abuse. A resulting police investigation found that the couple were high on meth the night that the young girl died, and that they had exchanged text messages that described hitting her and wishing to rid themselves of Deseray.
During their seperate trials, Ballinger’s attorneys argued that she felt threatened to continue abusing her daughter by Longenecker, saying that he was the one who caused most of her injuries.
In April 2018 Ballinger was sentenced in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court to a lesser charge of between 5 to 15 years for involuntary manslaughter, and a minimum of 23 years, 9 months in prison for child abuse charges.
A jury found that Longenecker guilty of the more serious charge, and he was sentenced in May 2018 to life in prison without the chance of parole for felony murder, and an additional minimum of 23 years, 9 months for the child abuse.
Both of the adults were also charged with possession of methamphetamine found in their home.
In their appeal, the two argued that they were deprived of a fair trial because of possible errors made by prosecutors and questioned the constitutionality of being convicted on both murder and child abuse charges. Ballinger and Longenecker also stated that they believed there was insufficient evidence presented to convict them of first-degree child abuse.
A ruling by the State of Michigan Court of Appeals last week upheld the sentences, saying that the two seperate convictions could not be considered an incident of double jeopardy because they stemmed from charges for different crimes. The court also failed to find any lack of evidence or errors in the investigations or prosecution leading to their convictions.
