Jurors discuss Springer trial, decision

CENTREVILLE, Mich. (WOOD) - About one week after telling the judge they were deadlocked, the jurors in the murder and child abuse trial of Anthony and Marsha Springer made a decision.

But it wasn't easy, they said Tuesday night.

The Springers were found guilty of child abuse and torture, but not murder. Anthony and Marsha Springer were tried on first-degree murder and Anthony faced an additional charge for second-degree murder.

Seven of the 12 jurors sat down with 24 Hour News 8 to talk about the decision.

"It wasn't all black and white," juror Melissa Dekoff said. "There was a lot of grays, so I can't really give you a timeline for how things went. We just had a lot of stuff to sort through and decide about. It was difficult, it was long and it was complicated."

The couple's 16-year-old daughter, Calista, died chained to her bed when the house caught fire in 2008. The Springers contend they chained her to keep her safe at night because she was a troubled child.

At times, the evidence and testimony was hard to handle, jurors said.

"All the evidence that we got on the Tuesday -- it (stuck) with me," juror Desiree Tucker said. "Even the smell of some of the evidence."

Part of the challenge in finding a verdict was the interpretation of the law.

"There's a lot of emotion in that word," juror Jessica Hurst said. "And so, it took a long time to set aside our own imagining, our own thoughts about what 'torture' meant and look at what the law said."

The Springers stood hugging in the courtroom following the verdict before deputies led them away.

"Something had to be done," said Suzanne Langdon, Anthony Springer's mother and Calista's grandmother. "It wasn't right. Calista didn't deserve to die like that. She really didn't -- nobody does."

Said Tucker of Calista: "She was different, she wasn't less. I kept saying that -- Calista was different, not less."

All but one of the seven jurors are parents, and said the Springers' actions were hard to understand.

"I think as a parent, it's very hard to see that your child needs help, and not know what to do for them," juror Jessica Sundberg said. "But it doesn't excuse the Springers' actions."

The medical examiner testified it did not appear Calista struggled, but the circumstances surrounding her death are memories all the jurors agreed they will never forget.

"I struggled with that," Tucker said. "The only thing that gives me comfort is actually hoping she was asleep."

Torture carries a sentence of up to life in prison and first-degree child abuse carries up to 15 years.

Judge Paul Stutesman revoked the Springers' bond and they were taken into custody. The couple is set to be sentenced April 16.