Nixzmary Brown was seven years old when she died. The two people who should have protected her, guarded her and taught her life lessons are those who stand accused of taking her life. Her stepfather's lawyer says this little girl is to blame.
Cesar Rodrigues is on trial for the death of little Nixzmary in New York.
The jurors on this case have been shown photos of this little girl who was tortured, starved and forced to use a litter box for a bathroom. They are also being told by the prosecutor that this child and her mother are to blame for her death.
Attorney Jeffery Schwartz has called Nixzaliz Santiago a "monster" and Nixzmary a "little Houdini" that was violent. Schwartz wants to call Santiago to the stand as his first defense witness. There may be a conflict of interests though as she also is facing a trial later this year for her daughter's murder.
Rodriquez has plead not guilty to the murder charges of Nixzmary. She died when she was struck on the head for punishment. Her "crime" was stealing yogurt.
The 29 year old Rodriguez does not deny that he was a strict disciplinarian. He doesn't deny that he bound the frail child to a chair or that he beat her. It was a daily ritual in the life of little Nixzmary.
There is no question that these parents used materials like duct tape to immobilize the little girl who weighed a mere 36 pounds at her death.
The home where Nixzmary lived had six young children. Their father was an unemployed security guard who according to his lawyer tried to protect the children from their mother.
"Isn't it a fact that Cesar Rodriguez was taking credit for all the injuries Nixzaliz Santiago inflicted?" the attorney asked a detective earlier this week in a cross-examination met with a barrage of objections by prosecutors.
The final day of Nixzmary's life was a nightmare. The child had taken some yogurt from the refrigerator and damaged a computer printer according to a taped interview that Rodriquez gave. He decided to punish her by running her head under a bathroom faucet.
"I took her and threw some cold water on her ... to make her think," he said.
It is suspected that he smashed her head against the faucet. He denies that. He also denies that the two black eyes on the lifeless body were his doing. This man blames a dying seven year old child for giving herself two black eyes.
As this child laid on the floor moaning in pain Rodriguez never once sought help.
She died as she lived in pain at the hands of her parents. Hopefully justice will come at the end of this trial for a little girl who should be playing in the snow this winter instead of buried beneath it.
