Jan 23, 2006 9:20 pm US/Eastern
Nixzmary's Grandmother Wants Custody Of Siblings
Family Court Judge Will Have Final Say
by Pablo Guzmán
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Accompanied by her lawyer, Raul Meruelo, the maternal grandmother of Nixzmary Brown went to New York City's Child Services agency on Monday and began the process to petition for custody of the little girl's five brothers and sister.
Maria Gonzalez, 53, did not say anything to reporters on the way in or out of the hearing room. But it is known, through her relatives and a woman named Awilda Cordero (who describes herself as an "activist" from The Bronx, and who has emerged as a spokeswoman for Maria Gonzalez) that Ms. Gonzalez wants the children to be out of foster care. And with her.
Ms. Cordero says her group has found a large apartment in The Bronx that they are preparing for the family.
However, it will be a Family Court judge who will have final say on this. And Friday, all the parties will be in Family Court. This will get ugly: the father of Nixzmary's oldest sibling, her 9-year-old brother Javier, has applied for custody of his son.
And the lawyer for Nixzmary's stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez -- who is accused with Nixzmary's mother of killing the little girl, the D.A. says, through a protracted history of beatings -- says the stepfather should not be looked at as the sole villain here. He says there is a history of abuse by the mother towards the children that may be documented in the Child Services archives, before Mr. Rodriguez met Nixzaliz Santiago. Santiago is the daughter of the grandmother now trying to get custody.
"Ms. Santiago (Nixzmary's mother) has dirty hands," Mr. Schwartz told me. "And all those relatives crying at the funeral -- where the heck were they?"
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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