Feb 1, 2006 7:28 am US/Eastern
Nixzmary's Mom, Stepfather Back In Court Today
ACS Remains Under Fire For Failing To Protect Child
by Tamsen Fadal
BROOKLYN (CBS) ―
Today will be the first day the mother and stepfather of Nixzmary Brown will be back in court since they were initially charged in the murder of the 7-year old girl.
There has been much outrage over her death, including a citywide probe in the Administration for Children's Services, the agency that had been monitoring the family well before the child's death.
Send Us Your Thoughts On The Nixzmary Brown TragedyInvestigators say it was Cesar Rodriguez who delivered the fatal blow to the child's head. While Nixzmary was beaten repeatedly, police said that her mother, Nixaliz Santiago did nothing to protect her daughter, who weighed just 36-pounds.
"I can't imagine how anybody could engage at this level of brutality to a 7-year-old child. It's just unimaginable," said Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Heinz, who spoke out after announcing the murder charges last month.
Since then, the ACS has come forward to say it had been monitoring the family dating back to last year.
Earlier this week the agency came under fire in a City Council hearing.
An ACS report said that the agency missed several chances to pull the little girl from the home, and after several failed visits, no one followed through on a search warrant. All along the ACS commissioner has admitted it could have prevented her death.
"I am deeply concerned that we were in a position at Childrens Services to prevent this from happening," ACS Commissioner John Mattingly said just days after Nixzmary's death.
Both Nixzmary's mother and stepfather are charged with second-degree murder among other charges.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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