INA JANE McELHENY - 4 Months -(2010) Hoosick Falls (NE of Albany) NY

Hoosick Falls NY ---- Police continue to investigate Joseph McElheny in
connection with death of his 4-month-old daughter two weeks ago, and law
enforcement sources say an arrest or indictment against him is likely
to come — potentially on a charge of murder.
While no charges have yet been filed, State Police and Hoosick Falls Police believe Ina
Jane McElheny suffered repeated abuse at the hands of her father, with
one particular incident leading to her death, according to police sources.
“That baby was suffering quite a bit,” one official said.



The girl had sustained a broken leg and several internal
injuries before medics responded to an emergency call around 1 a.m. on
May 12. The death was later ruled a homicide by the medical examiner.
“It’s still an ongoing investigation,” village Police Chief Robert Ashe said.
A State Police spokeswoman voiced similar comments.
Inquiries to McElheny, 30, through the Hoosick Falls computer-oriented business he
operates out of a home on River Street, Wolf Pack Media Technology
Solutions, were directed to his lawyers. Public Defender Jerome Frost
said it was too early to comment on the case in any specifics.
“It’s one thing to say someone is guilty of something,” he said. “It’s
another thing to prove it.”
He said police will “do what they think they should do,” as will McElheny’s defense team.
“That doesn’t mean my client did anything. He’s entitled to a presumption of
innocence, and as far as I know he’s innocent,” Frost said.
Rensselaer County District Attorney Richard McNally had no comment on any possible
forthcoming grand jury action. Those proceedings, during which the
grand jury hears testimony and decides whether there is enough evidence
to substantiate a criminal indictment, are conducted in relative secrecy.
Police are basing their case on medical evidence, and
several tests have been conducted over the course of the ongoing
investigation. McElheny did not indicate guilt when questioned by
police, a source said.
A page that appears to have been created
by McElheny on the social networking site MySpace indicates he attended
high school in Lockport, near Buffalo. He has not logged into the
page in nearly three years; it lists his place of residence as Bennington, Vt.
The website for his company, www.wmpts.com, has a memorial dedicated
to the infant. A slew of photos posted to online photo albums by Joseph
McElheny depict the big blue-eyed girl from her birth until late April.
Text at the start of a 13-minute video refers to the girl as “our perfect
child.” Ina was buried in Kansas, where the family of her mother Melinda resides, police said.

Does anyone know if there is anymore info on this case???

Kiwi, Always... I did a quick search and couldn't find anything past late May. Can you find anything?

HOOSICK FALLS — Joseph McElheny’s infant daughter Ina Jane, who died recently under circumstances police ruled a homicide, was his “entire world” and was neither murdered nor abused, a close relative said.

The relative, who asked that her name or relation to McElheny not be mentioned, said the grieving family does not understand how police could be eyeing the 30-year-old for allegedly killing his daughter when relatives have received few answers about what caused the 4-month-old’s death on May 12. Police have not interviewed McElheny’s closest family members, she said, and have shared little information.

“There was no abuse whatsoever — none that was being hidden, none that was covered up,” the woman said. “I saw that baby on a regular basis, and she was never abused. No one murdered this baby.”

McElheny and the girl’s mother, Melinda, were “neurotic” about keeping Ina Jane safe and healthy, she said.

Police sources have suggested a history of abuse, pointing to a broken leg and numerous internal injuries uncovered during an autopsy as indicative of serious trauma. State Police went public with a press release a few days after the infant’s death labeling it a homicide, and police have said quietly that they expect Joseph McElheny will face serious criminal charges once the investigation is complete.

His relative said the family has ordered its own investigation into what killed the child, and the results of a multitude of tests performed in Topeka, Kan. — where she was buried — will be forwarded to the Rensselaer County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing McElheny on the matter.

Public Defender Jerome Frost, who is handling the case with assistant public defender John Turi, previously said his client is entitled to a presumption of innocence and said accusing McElheny and proving responsibility for his daughter’s death are very different from one another. On Wednesday, Turi reiterated Frost’s comments and declined to discuss specifics of the case.

Frost has experience in defending cases of child death, most recently as part of the team that represented Adrian Thomas, a 28-year-old Troy man convicted in October of murdering his infant son despite extensive medical testimony from the defense that suggested a blood infection may have killed 4-month-old Matthew.

Ina Jane McElheny had been ill with digestive problems for at least a day before she stopped breathing, the relative said, and had received five vaccines just days before her death.

“As far as we know, this was anaphylactic shock,” she said, caused by a reaction to a vaccine. “… No one’s trying to hide anything; we just want to know what made this baby sick and die. We’re devastated. It’s not like we’re going on with life, this is what destroys families.”

http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2010/05/27/news/doc4bfdd6d3d4fbe210707164.txt

I would love to find more information somehow.. I was a member of Babycenter, where Ina's mom was also a member and this lady was CRAZY IMO... If anyone needs to be looked at it's the mother. She always expressed how she couldn't handle things that would be pretty simple for a new mother and Ina's father kept her at work with him all day.. I'm pretty sure Ina's mother did not work, so I found this kind of strange. I believe someone on Babycenter.com also said after all this happened that she had mentioned once how her husband didn't trust her with the baby. Why is she not being looked at as a suspect?? I don't understand this, but this little Angel deserves Justice. I guess this story breaks my heart so badly because I feel like it hits so close to home, with us both on the same website throughout our entire pregnancy and she stayed a member until this happened... :(

“As far as we know, this was anaphylactic shock,” she said,
caused by a reaction to a vaccine. “… No one’s trying to hide anything;
we just want to know what made this baby sick and die. We’re devastated.
It’s not like we’re going on with life, this is what destroys
families.”

my dd had this happen to her - the autopsy would have easily identified a closed airway - the lungs and airway swell from the inside out - it takes 4 diff meds to stop it and thank god we got to the hospital in time - she had eaten cashews and they caused the severe allergic reaction - she also had hives, and her face was swollen.

am moving this to murdered children, since police have ruled it a homicide

Infant's death ruled a homicide in Hoosick Falls
Published: Friday, May 14, 2010

By Jessica M. Pasko
The Record

HOOSICK FALLS — The death of a 4-month-old in Hoosick Falls
this week is now being investigated as a homicide.

Hoosick Falls police responded to an EMS call in the village just after 1 a.m.
Wednesday. The parents of Ina McElheny told emergency officials that
their daughter was unresponsive. The child was transported to
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and was then transported by air to
Albany Medical Center Hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short
time later. Her death was ruled a homicide following an autopsy that
found she’d sustained numerous internal injuries.

Hoosick Falls police and State Police in Brunswick are now investigating how the baby
was injured.

Village Police Chief Bob Ashe could not confirm whether police had identified suspects in the death and said all
information on the ongoing investigation will come from State Police
Troop G in Loudonville. Troop G spokeswoman Maureen Tuffey did not
immediately return calls Friday.

Anyone with information on the case can contact the state police in Brunswick at 279-4427 or in
Loudonville at 783-3211.

Infant’s death probed as homicide

Published: Saturday, May 15, 2010
By Jessica M. Pasko
The Record


HOOSICK FALLS — The death of a 4-month-old in Hoosick Falls
this week is now being investigated as a homicide.

Hoosick Falls police responded to an EMS call in the village just after 1 a.m.
Wednesday.

The parents of Ina McElheny told emergency officials that their daughter was unresponsive.
The child was transported to Southwestern Vermont Medical Center and was then transported by air
to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short
time later. Her death was ruled a homicide following an autopsy
that found she’d sustained numerous internal injuries.

Hoosick Falls police and State Police in Brunswick are investigating how the
baby was injured.

Village Police Chief Bob Ashe could not confirm whether police had identified suspects in the death and said all
information on the ongoing investigation will come from State Police
Troop G in Loudonville.

Troop G spokeswoman Maureen Tuffey did not immediately return calls Friday.
Anyone with information on the case can contact the state police in Brunswick at 279-4427 or in
Loudonville at 783-3211.

Jessica Pasko can be reached at jpasko@troyrecord.com

Hoosick Falls father indicted for infant daughter's death
By KENNETH C. CROWE II Staff Writer
Published: 05:36 p.m., Friday, August 13, 2010
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Hoosick-Falls-father-indicted-for-infant-615119.php

TROY
-- Joseph McElheny, 31, of Hoosick Falls, pleaded not guilty Friday
afternoon to allegedly killing his 4-month-old daughter in May.
McElheny entered his plea at his arraignment following the opening of a sealed
indictment by Rensselaer County Court Judge Andrew Ceresia.
The grand jury indicted McElheny in the May 11 death of Ina Jane McElheny.
McElheny was charged with felony counts of second-degree murder,
second-degree manslaughter, three counts of second-degree assault and a
misdemeanor count of endangering the welfare of a child.
McElheny was sent to the Rensselaer County Jail without bail.
It's a long article. Please click on the link above for the whole article.

I can't believe you found that already... Thanks for the update. I'm glad something was done, and I hope the right person is being charged. I really was not expecting him to be charged!

purp13pix13styx wrote:I can't believe you found that already... Thanks for the update. I'm glad something was done, and I hope the right person is being charged. I really was not expecting him to be charged!

Welcome purp13
I'd like to know more about the mother too. Like was she home etc. Was the baby's leg broken before that day?
It sounds like he worked from home and looked after the baby. Perhaps her mother worked. Terribly sad.

kiwimom wrote:

purp13pix13styx wrote:I can't believe you found that already... Thanks for the update. I'm glad something was done, and I hope the right person is being charged. I really was not expecting him to be charged!

Welcome purp13
I'd like to know more about the mother too. Like was she home etc. Was the baby's leg broken before that day?
It sounds like he worked from home and looked after the baby. Perhaps her mother worked. Terribly sad.

I heard that her broken leg was a previous injury that was never acknowleged or treated.. and that they found this out either after the autopsy, or when she was taken to the hospital.

Poor baby Ina Jane <3

An excerpt from the article above
Rensselaer County Public Defender Jerome Frost said he has reviewed
the autopsy results for Ina Jane McElheny, adding that McElheny did not
kill his infant daughter. Frost said that the 4-month-old died
from a burst lower intestine which could be caused naturally two or
three different ways in an infant.Posters comment; What about the broken leg huh? Combine the two and it looks like she was squeezed or punched as well and that caused the intestine to burst.