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Additional charges are possible against a Cromwell woman accused of murder in the death of her stepson.
Sherrie Cusick of 11749 Pied Piper Parkway was indicted by a grand jury Feb. 3 in the Nov. 23, 1996, death of 7-year-old Anthony Cusick, who died in a fire in the Cusick home. Anthony was allegedly playing with matches in a closet and died from smoke inhalation.
The grand jury did not return an indictment against Sherrie Cusick in connection with the Aug. 12, 1996, death of 4-year-old Kaelie Cusick, who reportedly broke her neck in a fall down the stairs at the Cusick home. The death originally was ruled accidental, according to police, but a mode of death was never noted on the death certificate, officials said.
Kosciusko County Prosecutor David Kolbe said Tuesday that "the death of Kaelie Cusick remains the subject of intense ongoing investigation. ... Further developments demand that we take a closer look at this case and we are doing so."
Kolbe said the prosecution does not have to but can recall a grand jury in the matter. Or the charges can be filed "by information," which would be basis for a probable cause affidavit. If charges are filed, Kolbe said, the latter will likely be the mode in which it is undertaken.
Supporting Kolbe's decision to continue investigating Kaelie's death is a letter filed by Janice Ophoven, M.D., of Woodbury, Minn., who noted six reasons for which "I strongly recommend re-opening the death investigation of (Anthony's) sister Kaelie."
Because of circumstances surrounding Anthony's case, Ophoven reported that she " assumes foul play in the death of both children."
The question posed to Ophoven, a forensic child pathologist, was: "In your professional opinion, could Anthony have become unconscious from the smoke in the closet before suffering severe burns and ingesting subsequent deadly amounts of carbon monoxide? In other words, was Anthony made unconscious by the fumes or from some other precedent source?"
Ophoven's answer: "Circumstances are highly suspicious for homicide for the following reasons:
• No matchbook was found in the closet.
• The child was known to have fire protection training and took it seriously. The child was also known to be frightened of fires in the home.
• The burn pattern is consistent with an unconscious child.
• The door was not locked, obstructed or otherwise barricaded to prevent his exit.
• A normal child would have left the closet when it became uncomfortable.
• A suspicious and unexplained death of a sibling."
Kaelie was also a stepchild to Sherrie, who is married to the children's father, Richard Cusick.
A pending civil lawsuit by the children's mother, Lisa Teders, suggests that the youngsters are dead because of negligence on the part of both Richard and Sherrie Cusick. That lawsuit also indicates that Teders "specifically requested" of Richard Cusick that Anthony not be left alone with Sherrie Cusick after Kaelie's death. But Anthony was solely in Sherrie Cusick's care at the time of his death, according to court documents.
Sherrie Cusick was scheduled to go on trial this month to face the murder charge brought against her in Anthony's death. However, her attorney, Mike Reed, requested a continuance until sometime after Jan. 1. That request was granted by Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Rex Reed with no new trial date set at this time.
Richard Cusick maintains his wife's innocence and recently wrote a letter to Reed "in a cry for Justice." The 2-1/2 page letter condemns Kolbe and his investigation into the deaths of Cusick's children.
Reed already has ordered that no information regarding Kaelie's death can be brought up during the trial looking into Anthony's death.
Because the investigation into Kaelie's death remains open, Richard Cusick notes his fears that his wife will be arrested again: "Your Honor Exhume my Daughters Body. Don't put an innocent woman in jail Again! My daughter is in heaven not in that grave."
