'We all failed this child'

2006-01-18 08:02

New York - The parents of a seven-year-old girl who was tortured and beaten to death were indicted on Tuesday on charges of second-degree murder, said prosecutors.

Brooklyn district attorney Charles Hynes said: "The allegations concerning the abuse and murder of seven-year-old Nixzmary Brown, if true, are among the most gruesome that I've ever encountered."

Nixzmary was found dead at her Brooklyn home on January 11. Her mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, said she found the girl unconscious and called emergency services. An autopsy found the girl had died from a blow to the head.

Stepfather 'first suspect'

Investigators said there was evidence that Nixzmary had been bound by her ankles to a chair, and police said they suspected her stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, delivered a fatal blow while dunking her in a bathtub as punishment.

Rodriguez and Santiago had pleaded not guilty in the girl's death.

Administration for children's services commissioner John Mattingly said his agency was in a position to prevent the girl's death, but failed to do so.

Mattingly said: "It's not only a tragedy, it's an outrage what happened to this little girl, and it's extremely concerning to all of us at children's services that we were not able to protect her."

Court order

School employees had reported Nixzmary's repeated absences, and ACS received at least two reports of possible abuse.

Mattingly said the family was unco-operative, but the agency should have obtained a court order to enter the home.

Nixzmary's death was the fourth homicide in recent months involving a family monitored by the ACS, which was reviewing all its cases.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who attended the girl's wake on Tuesday, said he had the "utmost confidence" in Mattingly.

He said: "No question we all failed this child. But, the agency is exceptionally well run, and we want to make sure that we reduce the probabilities of anything like this ever happening again."

- AP