Cindy Sue Mercer, daughter of Dr. Charles William and Sally Sue (Wiseheart) (1936-1968) Mercer, was born 26 April 1959 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.  Cindy graduated from Okemos High School in 1977.  She died 26 January 1998 in California and was interred Pinckney Cemetery, Pinckney, Livingston County, Michigan.  Cindy's mother was interred Glenwood Cemetery, Shelbyville, Shelby County, Illinois.  Note:  Cindy was also identified by the surname of Madary.

Lansing State Journal (Lansing, Michigan) Thursday, 29 January 1998

MERCER, CINDY SUE

OJAI, CA

FORMERLY OF OKEMOS

Cindy Sue Mercer died as a result of an accident on January 26, 1998 in Southern California where she was residing.  Cindy was born April 27, 1959 in Chicago, IL to Dr. C. William Mercer and the late Sally Sue Wiseheart Mercer.  Cindy graduated from Okemos High School in 1977.  She opened C. J. Video in Haslett in 1989.  Cindy was known for her generous spirit and her intense love of animals, especially cats.  She was preceded in death by her mother, Salle Wiseheart Mercer; her parental grandparents, Dr. and Mrs. Walter Mercer; and her maternal grandfather, Dr. Gil Wiseheart.  Cindy is survived by her father, Dr. C. William Mercer of Okemos, her sister, Sara (Jim) Roman; nephew, Kelen Roman of Troy, MI; maternal grandmother, Irene Wiseheart of Shelbyville, IL and former husband, Paul Merrifield of Haslett.

In 1968 Cindy, age 8, came home from school one day to find her mother's body lying on the floor of their Okemos home with her 2 1/2 year old sister, Sara, sitting nearby.  Sally Sue's death was originally ruled as a death by natural causes, then re-filed as a death from "acute bulbar poliomyelitis."  But in 1995 police reopened the case and in 2001 the death certificate was changed to record Sally as a victim of homicide.  The Mercer case became well known in the early part of the new century as it wound its way through the Michigan judicial system to the State Supreme Court.  Dr. Charles William Mercer was charged with his deceased wife's 1968 murder by injection with a lethal dose of pain medication.  As of December 2008 "prosecutors sent a letter to the Michigan Supreme Court, saying they would not appeal a decision in August by Ingham County Chief Circuit Judge William Collette, who found there was no evidence a crime had been committed."  (synopsis of Lansing State Journal "Prosecutors won't pursue Mercer case" article Wednesday 12/31/2008)