Cesar Rodriguez

Background

Nixzmary Brown was a seven-year-old abused child and murder victim from the Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn section of New York City, New York. Her death prompted reforms in the system after it impacted the city's Administration for Children's Services.

Her stepfather, César Rodriguez, beat her and later was learned to have bound, molested and beaten and killed her. Her mother was Nixzaliz Santiago. Brown’s murder was described as a spate of rage that began over a cup of yogurt and a broken printer that Rodriguez claimed was her fault.

Rodriguez was quoted calling her a "troublemaker".

The offence

On the night of Wednesday, January 10, 2006, Rodriguez beat Brown to death with both fists and his thick leather belt. The account described that Rodriguez slammed Brown's head into a bathtub and doused her with cold water. Santiago ignored Rodriguez as he slammed Brown's head into a bathtub and doused her with cold water.

The prosecution case included that traces of Brown’s DNA were found on Rodriguez's belt. The indictment also alleged that Rodriguez abused the little girl for months and smashed her head against a bathtub.

Investigation

Evidence of previous abuse inflicted on Brown came to light, and news coverage later drew public attention to New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS).

ACS had received two complaints about Brown's family. The first, made 2004, remained unsubstantiated. The second complaint was made on December 1, 2004 when Brown showed up at school with a black eye. Another story in January 2006 brought more details of ACS involvement.

Blame was eventually assigned to ACS by the news media and six Children’s Services employees were disciplined. There were also stories that investigators were "swamped" with cases and the Bloomberg administration noted that the ACS was responding by hiring 525 more workers.

Trial

Rodriguez trial: 2008

Jury selection began during the week of January 6, 2008. The defense objective was described as focusing on the ACS and the parents.

Jeffrey T. Schwartz was described as the defense lawyer for Rodriguez. Prosecutors were insistent that the judge allow jurors to see 7 pictures of the dead girl at the start of the testimony. Photographs of Brown, showing her bruised and battered body, were described as proving too gruesome for even her accused killer, Cesar Rodriguez.

The ADA wanted one of the pictures introduced to "refute claims by Rodriguez and the girl's mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, that she (Nixzmary) drowned."

The issue of child discipline was raised by the prosecutor, and crime-scene photos were planned to be shown at the trial, described as a case of torture.

The jury composition was described as 10 women and two men. Nine of them had children of their own. The jury’s racial composition was described as composed of 9 black females, one black male, and two white females.

Six alternate jurors were selected in case any jurors could not continue during the trial period.

Opening remarks

Assistant D.A. Ama Dwimoh told the Brooklyn jurors:

" It was inevitable her life would end the way it did: battered and beaten, left alone on the floor, moaning until she could no longer hold onto life "

Schwartz countered by indicating that Rodriguez was "a loving family man"; that Brown's mother was "deeply, deeply disturbed," and that the little girl herself was troubled.

Details of Brown's last days and household evidence

Brown was reported to be confined to a spare room in the apartment with dirty mattresses, a broken radiator, and an old wooden school chair with a rope, and the litter box. Brown was said to be "routinely tied to the chair; raped; beaten repeatedly with a belt and fists."

Crime-scene photos were described as being taken in the family's three-bedroom apartment, as well as a videotape of Rodriguez casting blame on Brown.

On Wednesday, January 18, the trial focused on household items shown as instruments of torture for Brown. The chief object was the chair that Brown was tied to. A white nylon cord was still attached to the chair. A bungee cord and duct tape, described as being used by Rodriguez to cinch Brown's ankles to the chair, were shown to the jury. The jury was described as being most disturbed by the cat-litter box.

On Monday, January 21, it was reported that:

"Brown weighed just 36 pounds when police found her beaten to death on the floor of her Brooklyn apartment, but her family's fridge was anything but empty."

Jurors saw crime-scene photographs of a well-stocked refrigerator full of milk, pancake mix, salami, tortillas, cream cheese, lettuce, and the yogurt that Nixzmary was punished for stealing the night she died.

In an attempt to show Rodriguez in a favorable light, a drinking mug was shown at the Tuesday portion of the trial by Schwartz with the title "World's Greatest Dad". Schwartz made the following comments:

"I believe Nixzmary bought it for him for Father's Day,"
"Nixzmary and he had a close relationship. He was a good father. He was a strict disciplinarian."

Assistant D.A. Ama Dwimoh rebuked the idea of Rodriguez ever being a good father to Brown. Further court discussion centered on the black leather belt Rodriguez used to allegedly hit Brown, and the report said traces of Brown's DNA were found on the belt.

New evidence, delays, and gag orders

New evidence was presented at the close of the trial on Wednesday, January 23. A gag order was issued by the court. Mention was made of Rodriguez "petty criminal record." Jurors were sent home on Thursday for a second time. Both sides were reported as refusing to talk about developments during the gag order. Jurors were next scheduled to meet on Monday, January 28, 2008.

The trial was delayed on January 23 and continued for a fourth day. The unexplained delays were described as being due to a new witness. The judge, Priscilla Hall, held a "sealed hearing" because of the witness's safety concerns. Newspapers filed papers seeking to lift the gag order. It was further revealed that Brown's blood was found in numerous areas of the spare room she was kept in.

The expert, Taylor Dickerson, said that her DNA profile was clearly present. The chief prosecutor said Brown was tortured and blood found on jeans that her stepfather wore on January 11 belonged to Brown.

Social worker testimony and ACS involvement

It was reported that Margarita Cotto, a social worker for Brown's school at P.S. 256, became concerned and reported her findings to the ACS. She pleaded with child welfare workers to remove Brown from her parents and tried, in vain, to enter Brown's apartment but was barred from entering by Rodriguez.

On May 16 of 2005, a guidance counselor who filed two abuse reports contacted the state child abuse hotline about Brown's bruises and also noted that Brown had been absent from school for 46 days.

An ACS caseworker visited Brown's home but could not verify the abuse charge and accepted Brown's mother's word that Brown would return to her school.

Jurors saw a video depicting the family shopping on Monday, January 9, 2006 while Brown was left home. The shopping occurred at a Target store in Downtown Brooklyn, the Atlantic Center Mall. The specific toy items being purchased were Power Ranger action figures, Hot Wheels cars, Play-Doh, Bratz dolls, etc. Brown was nowhere shown in the video, and Schwartz said the video did not prove anything.

Miranda rights and arrest dispute

Rodriguez's defense claimed he was never read his Miranda rights and that his constitutional rights were violated.

On February 4, jurors watched a video statement showing Rodriguez talking about the abuse he inflicted on Brown. Prosecutors described the video as "the most damning evidence". Prosecutor Ama Dwimoh said:

"He calmly and coldly talks about how he would beat Nixzmary Brown"

Schwartz attacked the video by cross-examining Det. Steven Sneider, who was presenting the video evidence. At one point, Schwartz called for a mistrial, but his motion was denied. Schwartz then stated to the jury that Rodriguez was taking responsibility for wounds inflicted by Brown's mother, Nixzaliz.

There was discussion of a "jailhouse witness" which the New York Daily News took credit in first reporting.

"Porn" comment and court reprimand

On Wednesday, February 6, Schwartz made a comment concerning the prosecutor as having possible porn in her home. Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Hall reprimanded Schwartz after the jury was dismissed for lunch.

Schwartz complained that prosecutors had "sandbagged" his defense using Brown's backpack and other personal items. The prosecutor replied that the jury had no interest in seeing what else was found at the apartment: piles of pornography. Schwartz responded saying that pornography was not illegal and implied that Dwimoh had pornography at her house.

Forensic photographs and medical testimony

Forensic photographs were shown on Thursday, February 7, and the jury reacted emotionally. Barbara Sampson of the medical examiner's office testified that the bruises were only hours or days old.

It was indicated that a head blow Brown received two days before she died was the cause of her death. Dr. Barbara Sampson told jurors:

"She was unconscious and going into respiratory depression for at least several hours before she died,"

It was further learned that neither Rodriguez nor Santiago did anything to help Brown during the hemorrhage.

Sampson said the blow to Brown's head was the "straw that broke the camel's back" and that Brown died from "child abuse syndrome." Sampson testified that Brown had been somnolent and then in a coma, and that Brown probably had progressive respiratory depression and perhaps had made moaning and groaning sounds and was also gasping for air. She indicated subdural hematoma was the mechanism of her death.

Child service worker testimony

Vanessa Rhoden, a specialist for ACS, testified that on December 1, 2005, she witnessed early signs of abuse in Brown but was rebuffed by Rodriguez. Rodriguez told Rhoden that he had taken Brown to the hospital, and then used foul language to address her and end the conversation.

Rhoden testified in court on Tuesday, February 19, that Rodriguez cursed her when she made inquiries concerning "lacerations, bruises and welts" on the girl. She further testified that Brown's mother attempted to show her a fetus kept in a jar in the family's apartment. Rhoden indicated she recommended mental health counseling for Brown's mother.

Rhoden testified that she did not believe Brown was in an unsafe environment and so she did not make any motion to have Brown or the other children removed from the family.

Medical examiner and defense dispute over timing of head injury and miscarriage allegations

On Monday, February 25, a medical testimony was expected from Dr. Charles Wetli, a Suffolk County medical examiner, and was described as possibly putting the prosecution’s case in jeopardy.

In the Tuesday, February 26 portion, it was indicated that the defense argument that Brown was killed because she caused Santiago to have a miscarriage was found groundless because Prosecutor Linda Weinman told jurors that Santiago had confided in a psychiatrist that she blamed Rodriguez because of a "beating". Weinman revealed that, in November 2005, Rodriguez had choked and thrown her to the floor and within hours Santiago had miscarried.

Schwartz contended the report proved Santiago a liar, while Weinman wanted the report kept confidential. It was explained that the discovery was an obsession, the reason Santiago kept fetal remains in a jar.

Schwartz said:

"she believed Nixzmary caused the miscarriage and I know that based on what my client has said to me and to the police from day one."

Schwartz maintained that it was Santiago who delivered the death blow to Brown.

Lawyer changes, apologies for delays, and courtroom issues

On February 27, Robert Abrams, the lawyer for Nixzaliz Santiago, removed himself from the case citing "communication difficulties." It was described that Santiago believed, according to the article, that a psychiatric evaluation given to defense would harm her case.

The judge in the murder case apologized to jurors about delays in the trial. It was reported that the trial never started before 10:30 a.m. and rarely went past 5 p.m., with jurors sent home five times without hearing testimony and receiving long lunch breaks and a half-day every Friday. It was also reported that witnesses were "hostile" and "stalled their appearances."

Riker's Island inmate testimony and sexual abuse allegations

An unidentified Riker's Island inmate was reported to blame Santiago and to have a secret diary of handwritten notes that the inmate took during her time in jail with Santiago. Prosecutors dismissed that person as unreliable, but the defense wanted her to take the stand and it was reported the testimony could be in a closed-door hearing for safety reasons.

During the Tuesday, March 4 portion, the jurors heard the testimony of the inmate/witness. The testimony also revealed that she may have hurt Rodriguez in the past.

It was later published that the inmate revealed a story of sexual abuse of Brown, and that Santiago desired to hurt Brown because she discovered Rodriguez making Brown have oral sex with him.

In the inmate's verbal testimony, the inmate indicated that Santiago:

"told me her child was a bad kid and her and her husband killed her."

The inmate said that Santiago despised her daughter and defended Rodriguez. The inmate’s account included that the article reported reading from a May 15, 2006 journal entry in which Santiago said:

" ...that her husband was a good man and the child was evil".

The inmate said Santiago referred to Brown as 'diablo'. It was noted that the sexual charges against Rodriguez had been dropped before the trial and that the M.E. had indicated there were no signs of sexual abuse.

Rodriguez closing arguments and jury verdict

Schwartz concluded the defense portion on Tuesday, March 11. Prosecutor Dwimoh said outside of Brooklyn Supreme Court:

"I'm confident at the end of the day, Nixzmary Brown will get her justice."

In closing arguments, prosecutors projected images of Brown’s corpse onto three large screens. Prosecutor Ama Dwimoh made these statements:

"He's nothing short of a murderer"
"Now he's having you believe, 'it ain't me; it's my wife.' Hmmm!"
"There is nothing that 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown could ever do to deserve that."
"remains the most eloquent piece of evidence in this case"
"body speaks volumes about the life she was forced to live."
"Each mark, bruise, laceration, contusion, abrasion, ligature mark, tells the story of systematic abuse and torture that she suffered at the hands of this defendant"

Schwartz portrayed Rodriguez as a family man who punished Brown with beatings, and insisted Brown's mother was the actual killer.

The jury began deliberating on March 13 and received instructions from Justice L. Priscilla Hall in deciding 12 criminal charges against Rodriguez.

On Tuesday, March 18, Rodriguez was convicted of first-degree manslaughter. Rodriguez faced a maximum of 29 years for the manslaughter charge, weapons possession and endangering the welfare of a child.

Sentencing of Rodriguez

On Thursday, April 3, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice L. Priscilla Hall sentenced Cesar Rodriguez to a term of 26 ⅓ to 29 years in prison. He was given 25 years for first-degree manslaughter and 1 ⅓ to 4 years for false imprisonment. This was described as the maximum term.

Before the judge imposed the sentence, Rodriguez briefly addressed the court:

"I'm just sorry for causing anybody any emotional pain or distorted memories about the child. I'm just sorry. I loved Nixzmary."

As he was led away, a woman in the crowd yelled "murderer!" and another shouted "I!"

Outcome

Rodriguez was convicted of first-degree manslaughter. The sentencing imposed a term of 26 ⅓ to 29 years in prison on April 3, 2008, with a stated allocation of 25 years for first-degree manslaughter and 1 ⅓ to 4 years for false imprisonment.

Other details

Funeral and family anger

Nixzmary Brown's funeral was held at St. Mary Church on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

According to a Newsday report, there was considerable anger during the burial with two sides of Brown's family present. Rodriguez's sister, Iris, showed up unexpectedly and her appearance prompted shouts by others to leave, and at least one comment of 'not being welcome'.

Nixzmary’s Law and legislation

Nixzmary's Law was proposed in January 2006 by New York State senator Joseph Bruno, shortly after the events. The law was described as designed to deter or prevent child abuse related crimes by charging parents connected to the crime of the death of their children with first degree murder.

It was described as providing a maximum punishment in New York State of 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Reports were stated to have increased to New York State’s child abuse hotline, with an article quoting:

" Driving the trend is increased public awareness of the hotline . . . "

The article provided the telephone number of New York's Central Register of Child Abuse and Mistreatment as (800) 342-3720.

Legislation in the form of a Bill sent to New York Governor Paterson had been approved by the state’s Senate to target those individuals who had killed a child, especially in a “cruel and wanton manner”. Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. was quoted:

"We have to send a message that this kind of abuse of children has to stop."

City Panel and proposed changes

In March 2006, a City panel was created by Mayor Bloomberg in response to Brown's death, advocating changes that included:

Under the changes, the police for the first time will assign a full-time supervisor, a lieutenant, to child welfare headquarters to be a liaison between the two agencies. Caseworkers will be required to seek entry orders when denied access to the home of a child suspected to be at risk of neglect or abuse. And school officials will have more license to alert the authorities when a student has too many unexplained absences .

Other changes were recommended, including better communication with school officials regarding absenteeism, a 24-hour hotline, instant-response teams and new training for police personnel regarding sensitivity to abused children.

New York City Council involvement and ACS criticism

A City Council hearing on ACS was held in September 2007, announced by Councilman Bill de Blasio, chairman of the General Welfare Committee which had jurisdiction over ACS.

De Blasio cited the death of 21-month-old Hailey Gonzalez after she was allegedly beaten by her mother's boyfriend and the death of a 2-month-old after the child was allegedly shaken by his mother in a homeless shelter.

De Blasio said ACS had made some progress but noted that children were still being lost.

A former ACS supervisor, Roger Moore, came forward on January 13 to discuss failure of ACS and how opportunities were lost because of another child-murder involving a 16-month old boy and other factors.

Moore discussed that because of the issue of the drowning of the little boy in a bathtub, the issue of Brown wasn't even discussed. He also described a lack of follow-up work not being done by caseworkers and supervisors in Brooklyn regarding the abuse in Brown's case.

ACS Commissioner John Mattingly made comments to the Daily News editorial board. It was stated that Mattingly mentioned various methods that could have been used but weren't, including bringing pressure on Brown's family to reveal more about the girl's condition, paying more attention to reports from Brown's school staff, and seeking a warrant to enter into Brown's home. He said none of these measures were used.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked in a Daily News article:

"Why the caseworkers didn't push further, harder - that's what we are investigating today."

ACS recruitment drive and child welfare staffing

As of March 2008, ACS launched a $1M recruitment drive for new child welfare caseworkers. It was reported that the agency was getting many applications but retention of caseworkers was a great problem.

It was further reported that in 2007, 17 percent of the city's caseworkers had quit. The pay for the position was reported as starting at $39,000.

Videos and other illustrations of the difficulty of the position were being used in the recruitment process.

Comparison to other case and additional reporting

Andrea Peyser compared Nixzmary Brown to another young girl murdered years ago, Justina Morales.

In that murder case, it was described that both the mother, Denise Solero, and her boyfriend "decided the girl had to die because she resisted taking a bath."

A number of suspicious child felonies surfaced and were reported in 2008, including the murder of an 8-month-old named Elijah Rodriguez.

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said at least 28 children had died since 2004 "under suspicious circumstances." Gotbaum said:

"Child fatalities in the city shelter system are a recurring problem ... We must do more to improve coordination between Administration for Children's Services and Department of Homeless Services to keep children safe in city shelters."

Both agencies defended their work with a joint statement:

"Our agencies are committed to the best interest of the children and families we serve."