Corrine Baker, mother of 4-year-old Dominick Calhoun, who was killed in April 2010 in an Argentine Township apartment, pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder and child abuse in Genesee County 7th Circuit Court.
I learned about the plea as I got ready to pick my 12-year-old son up from a sleepover at a friend’s house. I know that I will hug him mightily when I get him home. When I do, I’ll be saying a prayer for little Dominick Calhoun, robbed of the chance to become a middle-school student, to go to sleepovers, to wonder at the life unfolding before him, to feel safe and secure.
Prosecutors allege Baker, 26, failed to get help for her son as he was beaten and tortured over a weekend; they are now recommending Baker receive a sentence of 13-30 years. In return for the plea deal, Baker has agreed to testify against Brandon Hayes, 25, the boyfriend with whom she and her two sons were living at the time of Dominick’s death.
Hayes is facing murder charges in Dominick’s death; prosecutors allege Hayes beat and tortured Dominick to death over several days as punishment for wetting the couch.
It’s a case that has gripped the area, a case so vicious, so senseless and so violent that it’s difficult to comprehend the horror that went on in that apartment.
It’s a case, too, that clawed at the hearts of many, including me. You can read the piece I wrote about the case last year by clicking here.
