Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
For the first time in two years, Sherrie Cusick went to one of her son's cross country meets. She can go to PTO meetings with her head held high. Her children are beginning to believe she's at home to stay.
Cusick, who was accused of murdering her two stepchildren on separate occasions in 1996, addressed the media this morning during a press conference in the office of her attorneys, Mike Reed and Scott Lennox of the Reed & Earhart firm in Warsaw.
"We want to clear the air and try to remove any tarnish that has been put on (Sherrie's) name," Reed said. "These are two very, very serious charges. Some people are going to think, no matter what, that she got off."
Charges in the case involving the Aug. 12, 1996, death of 4-year-old Kaelie Cusick were dismissed earlier this year, and those from the Nov. 23, 1996, death of 7-year-old Anthony Cusick were dismissed last week.
Sherrie Cusick was charged in Anthony's death after being indicted by a grand jury, and ongoing investigations resulted in her being charged with Kaelie's murder. Cusick's stepson died from carbon monoxide poisoning after apparently setting fire to a closet he was in at the Cusicks' Cromwell home. Kaelie suffered a broken neck in a fall down the stairs while wrapped in a sheet playing dress-up.
Kaelie's death was originally ruled accidental and the investigation was reopened after a doctor noted that there was enough suspicion in Anthony's death to merit a closer look at how Kaelie died. Anthony's death also was ruled accidental. However, since the deaths of the two children came so close together, investigators questioned whether both could have been accidents, and an intense investigation was undertaken.
A statement released by Cusick's attorneys today states that "Sherrie has steadfastly maintained, and the evidence now conclusively established, the fact that she played no part in the tragic and accidental deaths of Anthony and Kaelie. She simply was not, and is not, guilty of any wrongdoing. ... Sherrie's innocence has clearly been established."
A conclusion of the statement said: "In summary, after an exhaustive three-year investigation into the deaths of Kaelie and Anthony, we are left today with the same obvious conclusions which were apparent in 1996. Both children died as a result of unfortunate unrelated accidents. All physical and medical evidence supports these conclusions."
Despite the dismissal of the murder charges against Cusick, Reed said, the matter will not just go away.
"People are going to see what they want to see," Reed said. "Hopefully they will look at the facts rather than taking any preconceived notions."
Sherrie and her husband, Richard, who stood at her side during the press conference, said they opted to stay in the area because Syracuse and the Wawasee Community Schools are "a wonderful place to raise a family."
While plunged into the limelight because of the murder charges and virtually unknown in the county before that, Sherrie Cusick perceives herself as a normal person. "I'm just a mom," she said.
Sherrie Cusick said she expected the deaths of the children to be investigated, but she was surprised by the direction the investigation took. "I never expected it to go the way it did," she said.
The Cusicks said they have been holding their breath for the past three years. The dismissal of the charges in Anthony's death didn't come as a surprise to them, they said, because they said Kosciusko County Prosecutor Charles Waggoner told them he was teetering on dismissing the case five months ago.
"We were very much in shock when Anthony and Kaelie died," Sherrie said. "The grieving process has been very long. ... You're never prepared for the death of a child. We hope to separate the legal issues from our grief over losing the children."
A civil lawsuit pending against the Cusicks by the mother of Anthony and Kaelie Cusick, Lisa Teders of Avilla, has been settled out of court and the matter dismissed.
Sherrie Cusick said she is not angry at anyone directly for being charged with murder, but she is upset at how the case came about.
"They never had evidence to say there was a murder and I spent six months in jail charged with two murders," she said. "I don't want to dwell on it ... to be angry and bitter. This is the time for healing."
"Our family is not upset or bothered by the fact they they investigated the deaths," said Sherrie Cusick. "We're relieved they were so thorough. They have cleared me without a doubt."
Richard Cusick, however, is bitter and said he believes David Kolbe's actions speak for themselves. Kolbe was prosecutor when the charges were filed against Sherrie Cusick.
Lennox and Reed would not allow questions about whether the Cusicks will pursue civil action against Kolbe and/or the prosecutor's office in regard to the case, but said they are not working on such a case. Richard Cusick said he would like to pursue the matter.
The Cusicks have two children together, ages 1-1/2 and 3, and Sherrie Cusick also has a 14-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter. She said the past three years have been hard on the entire family - for her son at school, her daughter's fears ("She asks, 'Can they come and get you again?'" Sherrie Cusick said) and loss of bonding time with her two youngest children, who were 1 year old and 3 weeks old when she was first taken to jail.
"(The children) are having to relearn I am a permanent fixture in the home," said Sherrie Cusick.
The ordeal also has affected the Cusicks' marriage - but in a good way. "It's definitely brought us closer together," Richard Cusick said. "We definitely stayed together to survive it."
Herself? Sherrie Cusick said, "I've lost my innocence. I'm not as na•ve as I used to be. ... God has been very supportive and surrounded us by people who love us."
The biggest lesson to come from the past three years, Sherrie Cusick said, is "to live everyday to the fullest and don't take things for granted."
The Cusicks chose to stay in the community because of all the support they have received.
"We couldn't uproot and go somewhere else and get the support," Sherrie Cusick said. "Anywhere we go, we'll still have to deal with it."
