Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Evidence Shown in Nixzmary Brown Murder Trial
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 19, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 19, 2008
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
We hope the jurors in the Nixzmary Brown murder trial get this weekend to relax, because the first few days of the trial have been intense. After the emotional opening statements on Wednesday, the prosecution showed a glimpse into the 7-year-old girl's tortured life.
The prosecution contends that stepfather Cesar Rodriguez's abuse of Nixzamary led to her death. Rodriguez and her mother Nixzaliz Santiago were raising a total of six children in a small Brooklyn apartment, on a January night in 2006, after Nixzmary "stole" some yogurt she was not allowed, Rodriguez lost his temper, beat her and held her under water. (Rodriguez, who admitted to beating her on many occasions, was punishing her for putting toys in the printer; she was 36 pounds and starving - 7-year-olds in the 50th percentile are around 50-55 pounds).
The NY Times listed some of the grim evidence found the apartment: "A child’s wooden school chair with a length of nylon twine tied to it. A bloodstained Donald Duck pillow. A cat litter box and its contents, 13 lumps of human excrement. A blanket trailing a piece of duct tape." Jurors also saw bungee cords used to tie Nixzmary up. The Daily News has a gallery - warning, it's got some disturbing images.
The prosecution also showed photographs of the family's refrigerator, full of food, seemingly to rebuke the defense argument that Rodriguez was trying to conserve food, since the family was so poor. Detective Joseph Bello said, "In the middle shelf, you see a Jell-O product, a yogurt container. You can see that some are missing from the container. It's not a full package." Bello also said of seeing Nixzmary's body, ""She was severely bruised, a purple tint covered almost her whole body."
The defense seized upon a photograph of a jar from the apartment. Lawyer Jeffrey Schwartz contended that it contained a fetus and that Nixzaliz Santiago's miscarriage made her unstable and violent towards her daughter. Schwartz later told reporters, "It really shows how demented that woman was." (A source says it's not exactly a fetus, but it is tissue from a miscarriage.) Santiago will face a separate murder trial for her daughter's death.
Tagged
brooklyn
Cesar Rodriguez
child abuse
daily news
Donald Duck
murder
news
Nixzaliz Santiago
nixzmary brown
ny times
The NY
the ny times
Wednesday
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man found dead, police say, and injured woman is his mother, neighbors say
Police are investigating a related incident in which a 62-year-old woman was found injured beneath the Van Wyck Expressway.
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 7:39 p.m. ET
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
News
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
By
Carol Chen
National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law
By
Jon Campbell
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .