Girl Is Dead a Year, and Many Can’t Forget (article published in the New York Times Jan. 9, 2007)


By MICHAEL BRICK
Published: January 9, 2007
Nixzmary Brown has been buried nearly a year, but as the criminal prosecution of her parents nears trial after months of missed deadlines and legal maneuvers, the case is stirring new passions.
For a pretrial hearing yesterday in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, the gallery was filled with curious onlookers, off-duty prosecutors, distant relatives taunting the defendant and a shy young man in an Eagle Scout uniform promoting a candlelight vigil.
“I just feel that she didn’t have anybody,” said the scout, Teddy Goodreau, 19, who was wearing a badge for his accomplishments in orienteering and another for his rank of assistant senior patrol leader. He said he was motivated to attend by “a passion for fighting child abuse.”
Nixzmary was 7 when she was found beaten and starved to death in her family’s Brooklyn apartment last Jan. 11.
The business of yesterday’s hearing, an argument on the admissibility of certain evidence, was delayed until Jan. 19. Robert W. Abrams, a lawyer for Nixzaliz Santiago, Nixzmary’s mother, who is charged with murder, contacted the court from a hospital bed to say that he expected to convalesce for several days from an undisclosed illness, Justice L. Priscilla Hall announced from the bench.
The dates for the murder trials of Nixzmary’s stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, and Ms. Santiago have been set for Feb. 1 and March 1, respectively.
For months, Mr. Abrams has promised to produce a report on his client’s intended psychological defense, an assertion that she, too, was a victim at the hands of her husband. Prosecutors said in court that he had written them to disclose that the report would take a few more weeks.
As the hearing ended, three women shouted at Ms. Santiago from the gallery, displaying framed photographs of Nixzmary. Court officers had a brief talk with them. Outside the courtroom, the women identified themselves as cousins and a great-aunt of the slain girl. But they said they were not in court to show support for their other relative, the defendant, Ms. Santiago. One of the women, Caridad Ramos, said she was displaying Nixzmary’s picture to make Ms. Santiago “feel it.”
Nearby, Mr. Goodreau, the scout, promoted a vigil, planned for Thursday night at Herbert von King Park in Bedford-Stuyvesant, to mark the anniversary of Nixzmary’s death.
From its start, the case has riveted attention on child abuse. Sharman Stein, a spokeswoman for the city’s Administration for Children’s Services, said a surge in calls reporting abuse and neglect had continued longer than increases after other highly publicized cases.
“There is something about this case that has definitely affected people,” Ms. Stein said. “A year later, we’re still running 30 percent higher.”
Some of the attention has not been helpful. In September, the city’s public hospital system suspended 37 workers for improperly viewing the girl’s medical records. On MySpace, someone has created a “memorial to the short life of Nixzmary (pronounced: Neesmahree) Brown.” The profile includes photographs and lists “Nixzmary’s details: Status: Single; Hometown: Brooklyn NY; Body Type: 3’9”; Ethnicity: Latino/Hispanic; Religion: Catholic; Zodiac Sign: Cancer.”
In Brooklyn Family Court, three separate parties seek custody of Nixzmary’s siblings, four boys and a girl, all younger than 11. Legally, a full year must pass before the courts can terminate the custodial rights of Ms. Santiago and Mr. Rodriguez, said David Bookstaver, a spokesman for the court system.