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Openings Arguments in Nixzmary Brown Trial
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 19, 2008
Modified Sep 19, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 19, 2008
Modified Sep 19, 2008
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Prosecutor Ama Dwimoh told jurors what 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown's final words were, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" "after being beaten, battered, broken and thrown naked onto a cold wooden floor." Brown's mother Nixzaliz Santiago is on trial for the girl's murder, as the Brooklyn DA's office contends Santiago did nothing to prevent her husband Cesar Rodriguez from delivering a fatal beating in January 2006. Dwimoh added, "She left her to die. Nixzaliz Santiago simply did not care."
Santiago's lawyer Sammy Sanchez, however, said his client "is not a monster," and said Rodriguez, already convicted of manslaughter, was "the real killer. He was the one who masqueraded as a father, as a husband, and turned out to be a killer. Nixzaliz Santiago was also a victim. ... The entire family was victimized by this monster."
Sanchez also painted Santiago as a troubled woman, who insisted on keeping a jar with a miscarried fetus and was also afraid of leaving Rodriguez and retreating back into the shelter system. did admit his client knew Nixzmary was beaten "but said she had no idea that the child was suffering from a brain injury that led to her death," according to Newsday.
The first witness, a police officer who responded to a call hours after Nixzmary died, is expected to testify today. And the Daily News details the make-up of the jury: Two men, ten women; one white, eleven blacks; many have children.
Tagged
abuse
brooklyn da
Cesar Rodriguez
child abuse
domestic abuse
murder
Nixzaliz Santiago
nixzmary brown
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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