LUDINGTON
— Fueled by alcohol and drugs in the early morning of April 28, James Vernon Belanger raped his former girlfriend’s 7-year-old daughter, then suffocated her with a pillow before fatally stabbing himself in the chest, Mason County authorities said Wednesday.
Those were just some of the grisly details released Wednesday by Mason County Prosecutor Paul R. Spaniola during a press conference about the death of Lakeview Elementary School first-grader Chloey Ann Stoudt. Police said she died at the hands of Belanger, 39, inside the home of her mother, 30-year-old Kelly Jo Stoudt, at 1082 Pineway.
“This incident continues to send shock waves through our community,” Spaniola said. “There is no good explanation to this incident.”
Authorities have closed the murder/suicide investigation since receiving the results of a toxicology and autopsy report for Belanger and a DNA analysis performed by the Michigan State crime lab revealing “seminal fluid of Mr. Belanger” on Chloey Stoudt, Spaniola said.
Belanger, of 10976 Lamos, Montague, died from two self-inflicted stab wounds to the chest, one that stuck his heart, Spaniola said.
The Muskegon Chronicle’s archive of the Chloey Ann Stoudt murder
According to Spaniola, Kelly Jo Stoudt called 911 at 5:32 a.m., and during that call “she can be heard performing CPR on Chloey.”
Belanger assaulted Chloey Stoudt between 4:30 and 5:30 a.m. in her bedroom, Spaniola said, and immediately after “stabbed himself in the chest, first missing his heart.”
“He drank some whiskey and roused Kelly Jo Stoudt, telling her that he had assaulted Chloey. He then stabbed himself with a second knife,” Spaniola said.
“Kelly pushed him out of the apartment and James walked some 30 yards away from the door, where he removed the knife from his chest. A second knife was found sticking in the ground outside the apartment.”
At some point, Belanger made it back inside the Stoudts’ apartment “and collapsed inside,” Spaniola said.
That’s when Kelly Jo Stoudt placed the 911 call.
Authorities arrived shortly after and recovered drugs and drug paraphernalia, including marijuana, cocaine residue and a number of crack cocaine pipes. A drug test of Kelly Jo Stoudt a few hours later indicated there was a “significant amount” of cocaine in her system.
As a result, Kelly Jo Stoudt faces a slew of drug-related charges in connection to her daughter’s death.
She was arraigned Friday on the following charges: Aiding and abetting delivery of cocaine, a 20-year felony; maintaining a drug house, a two-year misdemeanor; use of cocaine, a one-year misdemeanor; and possession of marijuana, a one-year misdemeanor.
Also, child neglect and abuse proceedings have also been filed by the state’s Department of Human Services, Spaniola said. Stoudt’s two other children have been placed with her parents, who live in the Ludington area, pending further action, he said.
“As parents we make decisions every day with respect to ourselves and our children … and our decisions in respect with our personal lives can have ramifications,” Spaniola said. “People need to think very carefully about the activity they engage in as it affects their ability to parent their children.”
Kelly Jo Stoudt is free on bond and has “supervised parenting time” with DHS. The children’s father, Christopher Stoudt of Muskegon, is in the process of arranging visitation with the children, Spaniola said.
A preliminary examination for Kelly Jo Stoudt is slated for next Wednesday.
Spaniola said the other two children were in the apartment during the April 28 incident but slept through it.
There is no reason to believe those children or Chloey Stoudt had been sexually assaulted by Belanger before the April 28 incident, he said.
Through interviews with Kelly Jo Stoudt, authorities learned that she had previously been romantically involved with Belanger, with whom she lived at some point.
When they dissolved their relationship, “they remained social friends,” Spaniola said.
The night of the incident, Belanger had come to the Stoudt home to talk with Kelly Jo Stoudt about a recent break-up with a Montague woman, he said.
In the past Belanger had healthy relationships with all of the Stoudt children, and there is no reason to believe he had harmed them in any way prior to April 28, Spaniola said.
“It was not foreseeable on Kelly’s part, based on her relationship with James. It’s generally accepted, other than this very significant incident, that … James’ relationship with the children was positive,” he said.
A months-long investigation followed the deaths. It included a search of Belanger’s Montague residence and personal computer in Montague.