CHARLOTTE — Dozens of colorful balloons soared into a sunlit sky on Thursday, April 23 in tribute to 6-year-old Kyron Kelemen, who died at the hands of his stepmother in a Delta Township hotel in January 2024.
About 20 family members, friends and various public officials gathered outside the main entrance of the Eaton County Courthouse after the stepmom, Elysa Kelemen, had been sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole for first-degree felony murder in connection with the death of a child one person described as “the sweetest, kindest little boy.”
“You didn’t just take one child away from family, you split up a whole family,” Kyron’s father, Tyler Kelemen, told Elysa Kelemen over a video link to Eaton County Circuit Judge Janice Cunningham’s courtroom. “I don’t want to forgive you, but knowing Kyron … he would want me to. On that, I forgive you, but I will never forget.”
Elysa Kelemen, 34, was convicted following a trial that transpired over nearly two months. Testimony began on Jan. 12 − two years to the day Kyron stopped breathing in a room at Travelodge by Wyndham in West Saginaw Highway − and the jury returned its verdict on March 10. The trial was halted in late January after the defense attorney suffered a health issue and did not resume until early March.
Cunningham imposed the mandatory sentence of life without parole for first-degree murder.
Kyron died from internal injuries that authorities said were inflicted by his stepmom.
At one point, Elysa Kelemen told investigators she put her knee to they boy’s stomach out of anger at the boy and her husband. She later said her husband inflicted the fatal injuries in varying accounts of what happened.
Her attorney, Conrad Vincent Jr., characterized his client as a domestic violence victim who took the blame for her husband. Elysa Kelemen testified she was afraid of her husband and falsely confessed to protect him.
The boy’s father had left for work early that day, many hours before the boy got sick and fell unconscious. Prosecutors contended the boy’s injuries were so catastrophic that he could not have lived for very long after they were inflicted.
“Crimes like this, a travesty like this, causes wounds that will never heal,” Deputy Chief Assistant Eaton County Prosecutor Adam Strong told Cunningham during Thursday’s sentencing hearing. “And they have scarred everyone who has touched this case. Not a one of us will ever forget this.”
Strong said the child protection system failed Kyron by “doing nothing” well before he died in the hotel room. State investigators, for example, failed to investigate the 2020 death of one of Kelemen’s children in Genesee County, he said. No evidence from that incident was introduced in the murder trial.
“Had they done their jobs, he could still be alive,” the prosecutor said.
Elysa Kelemen described Kryon as “a funny, loving kid” and said she is truly sorry for his death. She stopped short of taking responsibility.
“Maybe Kyron could tell you what really happened,” she told Cunningham.
Several family members also spoke on Thursday, including Elysa Kelemen’s mother and Kyron’s biological mother.
They described Kyron as a sweet boy who liked to play with trucks, playing outside and eating pizza.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Stepmom gets life in prison for murdering boy, 6, in Delta Township
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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