KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The trial continued Friday for a Kalamazoo County mother and her fiance accused of murder and child abuse in the death of a 4-year-old girl. More horrific details came out surrounding Desray Thompson's death. Police say the girl died from asphyxiation in July 2017.
The main focus of Friday's proceedings were private Facebook messages between Kelly Ballinger and her fiance Matthew Longenecker.
"Please no hitting in the face," wrote Ballinger to Longenecker. "I don’t want to go to jail. There has to be a way to make her safe and not be cruel. But I don’t know. I asked her questions this morning and she said not no more. Me and daddy had a talk. Im just so upset. Im going to cancel Des. "
The messages were exchanged in the days before Thompson's death, and the prosecution said that they show the type of environment the girl lived in. Kalamazoo police obtained a search warrant to access both accounts.
The prosecution also showed pictures of duct tape that was found in the house the day Desray was reported dead. Crime lab technician Gary Latham said he found pipes in the couple's dresser drawer and a onesie that Desray might've worn.
"It had one arm hole that was knotted," he testified. "There were stains located on it."
Latham said the stain was "consistent with blood."
Trial resumes Tuesday morning.
