Parents Indicted for Murder of 7 Year Old Girl

Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes charged both parents of Nixzmary Brown, the 7 year old girl who died of abuse, with second degree murder. Stepfather Cesar Rodriguez had beaten Brown to death on January 10 as Brown's mother Nixzaliz Santiago did nothing, and originally Rodriguez was charged with second degree murder and Santiago with manslaughter - but yesterday DA Hynes said the grand jury found that Santiago "created a grave risk of death" for her daughter. And with the indictment, the DA's office offered grisly details about Brown's death. From the NY Times:

That pattern approached its climax on Jan. 10 as Nixzmary's siblings were compelled to accuse her of eating yogurt without permission and breaking a computer printer, prosecutors said. As punishment, they said, the girl was stripped naked, beaten, dunked in cold water and thrown on the floor to lie untended for hours in a place the other children called "the dirty room."

DA Hynes is also looking for the state to change the law to give life without parole to anyone who kills a child. Mayor Bloomberg went to Brown's wake to pay his respects, but he did say Administration for Children's Services commissioner John Mattingly was the best one for the job. Hmm.

The Daily News' Michael Daly says a rudimentary background check on Rodriguez would have revealed his violent past. And the NY Times looks at the city's child welfare system.