January 22, 2006

Satan's Minion

I have to say that I'm not speechless very often (ask anyone who knows me), but this story did it. Not for the weak-hearted and for those of you with children, you'll want to hug them extra tight.

NEW YORK (AP) - In the eyes of her stepfather, 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown was an out-of-control troublemaker. She stole money from her parents and broke her siblings' toys, she stole milk from a younger sibling and broke their computer printer, he said.

And when he found that she had gone into the refrigerator and taken a cup of yogurt she wasn't supposed to have, he flew into a rage.

Police say Cesar Rodriguez beat the little girl to death, then tossed her on the floor of what was known in the family's apartment as the "dirty room," a rodent-infested room where she had been tied up and left with only a litter box as a toilet.

There are only a few people in this world that I would classify as fully lacking a soul - this bastard would be one of them - and I'm pretty convinced that the mother is a close second.

Rodriguez, 27, and Nixzmary's mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, 27, are charged with multiple felony counts, including second-degree murder. Rodriguez also is accused of molesting Nixzmary and abusing her five siblings.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

NOT GUILTY? Assholes. Let's just draw this out because you have a little anger-control problem...your "emotions" get carried away. If I had any influence, I'd ask to serve justice myself and it would taste like lead.

There had been warning signs.

Last May, a guidance counselor at Nixzmary's school reported the child had missed 47 days of school. The city's Administration for Children's Services responded immediately but closed the case weeks later.

The agency failed to find "educational neglect when it was clear the girl had not been attending school," said ACS Commissioner John Mattingly.

They not only failed in their findings. They failed a now dead little girl.

An indictment alleges that, beginning on New Year's Day, Rodriguez used anything he could to subdue the little girl he described as "a handful," including a belt, a piece of wood, a bungee cord.

Authorities said he bought yogurt for his children but refused to give Nixzmary any.

On the night of Jan. 10, Nixzmary's mother discovered one of the yogurt cups was missing, and she went to Rodriguez. The frightened girl denied taking it, but one of the other children tattled, authorities say.

Later, Rodriguez discovered his computer printer was broken.

He stripped Nixzmary of her clothes and beat her in front of Santiago, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said.

He dragged her into the bathroom and repeatedly dunked her head under the cold water, and loud banging noises and screams of "Mommy" were heard throughout the apartment, authorities say. Rodriguez carried Nixzmary's limp body into the dirty room and tossed her to the floor, Hynes said.

I can't help but leave that exerpt in this post. I think people need to see this. So they keep the heat on these agencies who can't do their job and what the consequences are. So they can keep their ears and eyes open and protect little ones from abusive parents, caregivers, etc. So the next young girl can live and not get killed over a container of yogurt.

Before Nixzmary's little white coffin was laid to rest, the Rev. Robert O'Neil said her nightmare was finally over.

"Nixzmary is now surrounded by love, beyond the touch of evil," he said.

Amen.