Kyron Kelemen’s relatives gathered outside court after Elysa Kelemen received life without parole.
CHARLOTTE, Mich. — Family members and supporters gathered outside the Eaton County courthouse after Elysa Ella-Ann Kelemen was sentenced to life without parole for murdering her 6-year-old stepson, Kyron Kelemen.
The April 23 hearing ended a criminal case that began in a Delta Township hotel room and widened into questions about prior abuse reports, a second child’s earlier death and whether public agencies missed signs that Kyron was in danger. Kelemen, 34, was convicted March 10 of first-degree felony murder after a multiweek trial.
After the sentence, balloons rose outside the courthouse in memory of Kyron. About 20 relatives, friends and public officials gathered near the entrance. In court, Kyron’s father, Tyler Kelemen, addressed Elysa Kelemen over a video link and said she had split up a whole family. He said he did not want to forgive her, but believed Kyron would want him to. The statement came before Eaton County Circuit Judge Janice K. Cunningham imposed the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder.
Deputy Chief Assistant Eaton County Prosecutor Adam Strong told the court that crimes like Kyron’s killing leave wounds that do not heal. Prosecutors said Kelemen killed Kyron on Jan. 12, 2024, after becoming angry that he knocked over her laptop in a room at the Travelodge by Wyndham on West Saginaw Highway. The family had been evicted from the Flint area and was staying at the hotel with help from a charity. Kelemen, Kyron, a 6-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy were in the room when Kyron became lethargic and later died.
The first report from Kelemen was that Kyron had suddenly become sick while doing homework. She said he became lethargic, vomited and was placed in the shower. He was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead. Investigators and doctors found injuries that did not fit a sudden illness. An autopsy showed blunt force trauma to the abdomen, and the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. A detective later testified that Kyron had bruises on his face, arms, legs, knees and hip.
Police said Kelemen eventually admitted she had gotten angry and came down on Kyron’s stomach with her knee. Prosecutors said the internal injuries were catastrophic and included damage to organs in his midsection. They argued that the boy could not have lived long after the injuries were inflicted. Kelemen’s defense attorney, Conrad Vincent Jr., argued she was afraid of her husband and had falsely confessed to protect him. Kelemen testified that her husband was responsible and that police pressure led her to say otherwise.
Jurors also heard from a former friend, Stephanie Tlajonick, who testified about how Kelemen talked about Kyron before his death. Tlajonick said Kelemen complained that the boy had a speech impediment, said she was sick of caring for him and called him stupid. She said Kelemen did not like him. Prosecutors used the testimony to show resentment toward the child. The defense focused instead on family conflict, alleged abuse of Kelemen and what it described as a confession that should not be trusted.
The trial began on the second anniversary of Kyron’s death. It paused in late January after the defense attorney had a health issue and resumed in early March. Strong and Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Andrea Marti handled the prosecution. Eaton County Sheriff’s Office detectives Ted Johnson and Brendan Cissel investigated with help from the Michigan State Police. The jury returned the guilty verdict on March 10. Cunningham’s sentencing decision on April 23 was required by the conviction and left no chance of parole.
Eaton County Prosecuting Attorney Douglas Lloyd said after sentencing that Kyron was murdered by someone who should have protected him. Lloyd also said the case exposed failures by a child welfare system that had received warnings. He said life without parole could not begin to reflect the harm caused. He described the killing as driven by jealousy and cruelty and said the sentence reinforced why such punishment is lawful for someone who killed a child.
Those warnings began months before the hotel call. In September 2023, Genesee County Children’s Protective Services was told Kyron came to school with bruises all over his face, one black eye, another eye that was bloodshot red and bruises on his chest and rib cage. In October, another report described a face full of bruises and broken blood vessels in both eyes. In November, a complaint directly accused Elysa Kelemen of physically abusing Kyron and called it recurring. The complaints were not substantiated, and Kyron was not removed.
Kyron’s biological mother, Angelina Foghino, said she had lost custody years earlier because of drug addiction and felt she failed him. She said she was notified about some of the reports and contacted Kelemen through Facebook Messenger to ask why she was beating her son. Kelemen denied the abuse. Foghino later said officials could have acted before the death. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees CPS, called Kyron’s death a profound tragedy but said privacy laws limited what it could say about the complaints.
The case also renewed attention on the death of Kelemen’s 4-year-old son, Carter Krammer, in 2020. Kelemen told Flint police she found him unresponsive after taking a shower and said he had been sick during the prior month. Officers reported no visible injuries or bruises, and no charges were filed. CPS closed an eight-month investigation with no finding of abuse or neglect. The medical examiner listed the cause and manner of death as undetermined. Flint police later continued investigating, but no one has been named a suspect.
Public reports do not show that Kyron’s father was charged in connection with abuse allegations or the boy’s death. The murder conviction applies to Elysa Kelemen alone. Prosecutors said the verdict and sentence answered the central criminal question in Kyron’s case, but they also pointed to the prior complaints as part of the story that led to the child’s death.
For now, Kelemen is serving life in prison without parole. For Kyron’s family, the court case has ended with a sentence, while the unanswered questions about earlier warnings and Carter Krammer’s death remain outside the closed murder file.
Author note: Last updated May 19, 2026.