Jury selection set in case of chained teen who died in house fire

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By WSBT 24/7 News

Story Created: Oct 28, 2009 at 2:43 AM EDT

Story Updated: Oct 28, 2009 at 10:32 AM EDT

CENTREVILLE, Mich. (AP) — Jury selection is set to open in the trial of the parents of a Michigan girl who was chained to her bed when she died in a house fire.

Anthony and Marsha Springer are charged in St. Joseph County Circuit Court with first-degree child abuse, torture and felony murder in connection with Calista Springer’s Feb. 27, 2008, death.

The 16-year-old died during a fire in the family’s home, where fire investigators found her chained to her bed. The teen’s father has said she had special needs and the tethering was necessary to keep her from leaving her bedroom and the house at night.

The Kalamazoo Gazette reports a faulty vacuum sweeper was cited as the cause of the fire.

Jury selection is to begin Tuesday. The trial may last up to three weeks.

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