The murder that brought campus safety into question
“When I talk to my grandchildren about heroes and role models, I will tell them about a spirit called Carolyn,” retired professor Barry Stearns eulogized in 2005. Stearns had taken Kronenberg under his wing as she began to teach classes on her own at LCC. All photos and graphics by Emmett Roman.
By Emmett Roman
Staff Reporter
Just a heads-up, readers: This article discusses sexual assault and murder. Please take care while reading, or sit this article out if you need to.
The Lookout has covered many stories, from on-campus events to scandals. However, in 2005, one story shocked the entire campus.
In 2005, Carolyn Kronenberg, an LCC professor, was sexually assaulted, beaten and murdered in a violent struggle in room 223 in the previous Student Personnel Services Building, now the Mackinaw Building. She was found by several of her students who came for class, one of whom later testified that he held her hand and talked to her while her pulse faded.
Kronenberg was a beloved professor by many students and staff and even was granted a faculty award in 1999. Working for the college for 25 years, she put her passion into teaching students. Former LCC President Paula Cunningham stated in a February 2005 article from The Lookout that her death “hit us hard.”
The Lansing State Journal reported that there was a memorial held in honor of Kronenberg on campus a week after her death. “She was probably one of the most peaceful and supportive people I’ve ever met,” Barry Stearns, a retired LCC professor, said. “Carolyn was always the quiet, supportive, compassionate person who was always there for her students.” The Journal reported that about 200 people attended Kronenberg’s memorial on campus.
Room 223, where Kronenberg’s classroom was located. It remains empty of life, as does the rest of the building.
The murder occurred in the early hours of Sunday, January 23. According to court documents, LCC Police Officer McGraw left the Gannon Building around 8:23 a.m. to pick up a newspaper. While getting the newspaper, McGraw saw Kronenberg as she was unloading items from her car in front of the SPS Building. She was getting ready to teach a study skills class that began at 9 a.m. in room 223. McGraw returned to the Gannon Building around 8:29 a.m. About 15 minutes later, Kronenberg was found murdered.
Timeline of the events that transpired the morning Kronenberg was murdered, according to court documents.
A false conviction
A few days after her death, Claude McCollum, who was an LCC student at the time, was arrested for her murder. The Lookout reported that the authorities stated they arrested him on the evidence that he “‘knew what only the killer would know.’” Despite there being no physical evidence to link him to the crime, and despite that the DNA collected from under Kronenberg’s fingernails did not match McCollum, McCollum was charged with her murder on Feb. 14, 2006, and sentenced to life in prison.
However, it was eventually revealed that McCollum was not guilty when Matthew Macon confessed to Kronenberg’s murder. The fingerprint evidence from the scene of the crime ended up matching Macon. It was then revealed that CCTV footage placing McCollum in a completely different building during the time of the murder had never been brought to trial, despite the police and prosecution being aware of the footage.
McCollum’s initial arrest for the crime stemmed from his proximity to the Student Personnel Services (SPS) Building, as Starcard data showed that he was in the nearby Technology and Learning Center (TLC) the morning of the crime. McCollum, a Black man, was also known by campus police to be a “homeless student who often loitered around and slept on campus.” It was reported that McCollum was the subject in one incident before the murder where he was “mentally unstable,” according to LCC police. McCollum would later acknowledge that he has a low IQ.
The Mackinaw Building is currently empty.
McCollum claimed in an affidavit that LCC Police Detective Rodney Bahl questioned him about the crime, during which he provided McCollum with some details about how the crime was committed. That interview was not recorded. When later questioned by Lansing Police Detective Bruce Lankheet on the record, McCollum stated he could have committed the crime if he had been sleepwalking, as he recalled falling asleep in the TLC building that morning and waking up around 9:30 a.m. That confession led to McCollum’s arrest, even though he never explicitly confessed to the crime and there was no physical evidence tying him to the scene. In fact, McCollum maintained his innocence when he took to the stand during trial. However, that police interrogation was the primary evidence that convinced the jury of McCollum’s guilt.
LCC reacts
In the immediate aftermath of the murder, LCC added 80 security cameras to campus, increased police presence over the weekends, and “clustered” classes to be in classrooms nearby each other, according to a February 2005 issue of The Lookout.
In 2006, The Lookout reported that the LCC Library dedicated a new collection of books in honor of Kronenberg. The books were mostly self-help and inspirational titles, the kinds of texts that Kronenberg would have assigned in her classes. Each book included a tribute to Kronenberg with her birth and death dates and an inspirational quote.
Though there is no record in LCC’s library system of which books were in the original collection dedicated to Kronenberg’s memory, The Lookout was able to locate one book from that collection. This copy of The Little Prince contains the plate that was placed in each book acquired in Kronenberg’s honor.
In the same article, The Lookout also reported that a new sculpture would be added to campus in honor of Kronenberg. The sculpture was created by Lee Kronenberg, her ex-husband, with a plaque stating, “The larger shapes represent the two major loves in her life: her family and Lansing Community College.”
The sculpture eventually was moved into the LCC archives, which is only accessible by appointment. The collection of books in the library were originally housed in a special room. Now, any books that remain of that collection are interspersed with the general collection.
When it came out in 2007 that McCollum was innocent, The Lookout reported that students criticized LCC, and specifically the LCC Police Department, for how the case was handled. One of the main criticizers was a friend of McCollum’s. “LCC needs to issue a public apology,” Morris “Hassan” Glover said. Glover also stated that there were “several instances where LCC could have prevented this.”
In 2010, McCollum received a two-million-dollar settlement from LCC in what the Lansing State Journal called “two and a half years of litigation that eventually centered on whether Lansing Community College police Detective Rodney Bahl hid evidence of McCollum's innocence.” During this lawsuit, more of the investigation’s mishandlings were uncovered. The forensic scientist who analyzed the DNA and blood evidence in the case claimed that “they had the wrong person in custody.” The DNA under Kronenberg’s fingernails did not match and there was no blood on McCollum’s clothes, even though the entire scene had a substantial amount of blood.
The Lookout reported in 2010 that Macon would not face charges for Kronenberg’s murder or those of four other women because he was already serving two life sentences for the murders of Sandra Eichorn and Karen Delgado-Yates.
The sculpture dedicated to Kronenberg is now stored in the LCC archives.
Honoring Kronenberg
Today, the campus is quiet about the professor who met an untimely and brutal end while she prepared to welcome students to her classroom. There is no mention of her on LCC’s “In Memoriam” wall next to the Arts and Sciences Building. The sculpture in her honor is tucked away among the boxes in LCC’s archives. You cannot even find a trace of her in the back end of the library’s catalog.
When students walk past the Mackinaw Building, where Kronenberg spent her last moments, it is important to remember her for who she was, not just what happened to her. She was not just a murder victim of a horrific crime, but was a mother, grandmother, and teacher who adored the people in her life. Kronenberg was a 60-year-old woman with two sons and two grandkids, hobbies and aspirations, a love of animals and nature, and a job she loved and contributed to for 25 years. She had no idea that walking into her classroom would be the last time that anyone would see her alive. It is important to honor Kronenberg and her life not only through this article, but also when students engage with the college that she devoted her career to.
“Taken was an angel who touch the lives of so many, whose spirit and grace are difficult to put into words, an extraordinary woman who possessed a special blend of grace, strength, and compassion,” read a letter from Karen Miles-Kenly published in the Lansing State Journal. “Carolyn Kronenberg’s courage and spirit will continue to inspire us all to be as compassionate and caring as she was, filled with a boundless energy for life and teaching.”
"There's been anger and shock," Ruth Borger, previous vice president of college advancement at LCC, said. "Losing people like that—you can't replace that person. She was one of these committed teachers that [schools] pride themselves on.”
LCC’s “In Memoriam” wall features several men, both students and staff, but does not include Kronenberg.
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