KALAMAZOO (WKZO AM/FM) — A Kalamazoo couple could get life without parole if the Prosecutor’s claims about what they did to a four-year-old girl are true.
Kelly Ballinger and her fiancée, Matthew Longenecker have been charged with felony murder and first degree child abuse for the death of Ballinger’s daughter, Desaray Thompson.
She was found in her bed, unresponsive Sunday morning.
Detective Sheila Goodell testified at the video arraignment that the couple admitted they had been wrapping the child in a blanket and then taping the blanket with duct tape so she could not move at night for two weeks, sometimes covering her face.
Sunday morning, when they discovered she had stopped breathing they dialed 9-1-1.
The Medical Examiner also found numerous bruises and lacerations on the body and identified homicide as the cause of death.
Judge Vince Westra denied bond.
