Nixzmary Brown was a 7 year old murder victim from New York City. On January 11th. 2006, she was murdered by her stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, for taking a strawberry Jello Pudding snack from her family's fridge and over a broken computer printer.
I attended her step-father's 3 month murder trial, her mother's pre-trials and 5 week murder trial, all on a DAILY basis. I was a witness to the testimony of Nixzmary Brown's torture death. See INDEX for my complete courtroom notes of the trial.
Nixzmary Brown was a 7 year old girl who was starved to a skeletal looking 36 pounds, imprisoned in her room, kept duct taped to a chair, raped orally, forced to use a cat’s litter box for a bathroom, eat cat food, then finally beaten to death, her head bashed into a bathtub faucet, for taking a strawberry Jello pudding snack from her family’s fridge and over a broken computer printer. Her death caused an overhaul to New York City’s ACS (child protective services) system. Three years after little Nixzmary was brutally murdered, the Governor of the State Of New York, David Patterson, signed a law bearing her name to protect children. The new law says that the maximum punishment for torturing a child under 14 to death is life in prison without parole.
The following biography was written by myself. It is the most complete biography of Nixzmary Brown's life, written to date. I'm going to be re-writing this bio. and adding in some additional information. Also the font will be lower cased in the future, making it easier to read.
The following blogs containing Nixzaliz Santiago's pre-trials are all a first hand account written by myself. Alot of these pre-trials were never covered by the New York newspapers. Reporters were in the room but articles were never written. You'll be reading about what the newspapers never wrote about. Everything topic spoken about in the room, from the beginning of the hearing all the way to the end of the hearing, is written about in detailed chronological order.
The following blogs containing Nixzaliz Santiago's trial are all a first hand account written by myself. Every topic spoken about in the room, from the beginning of the day, all the way to the end of the day, everyday, is written about in detailed chronological order.
My notes for Cesar's trial are not at all detailed like my notes for Nixzaliz Santiago's trial. Some are only about a paragraph or two. I wasn't taking notes every day. I'm still in the process of transferring the notes over here.
The Urban Dictionary is a dictionary of City street slang. Guess who made it into the dictionary? I'll give you a hint: it starts with an "N" and ends with a "Y"
On January 11th. 2009, the third anniversary of Nixzmary Brown's murder, I spent 3 hours in her abandoned apartment. Click HERE to see photos that I took.
This past Sunday, January 11th was the third anniversary of Nixzmary Brown's murder. She was actually murdered Jan.10th and died in the early morning hours of January 11th. On January 10th., it was so hard for me. I kept watching the clock and reliving every hour of what happened to her. I watched the clock around 6:30 - 7:30pm and knew that was the time she was being hit on the head. I watched the clock and thought, now she's on the floor gasping for air. I watched the clock and thought now her mother is in the room checking on her. I just kept watching the clock and reliving every hour. I couldn't sleep. I woke up at about 5am (Jan.11th) and the first thing I thought was that her body was already found by the upstairs neighbor. I felt guilty for sleeping through it.
Yesterday was a snow storm in New York City. There's snow on the ground, it's icy, it's cold and I'm on foot because I don't have a car. I don't care. I need to see Nixzmary. I had already decided that I was going to visit her at the graveyard and go to her apartment in Bed-Stuy. I had asked my family the night before, but everyone with a car was busy and couldn't give me a drop, at least to the cemetery. (It's a 20 minute walk to and from the grave. That means 40 minutes of walking in the cold. That was what I was trying to avoid) Early in the morning, I lucked out. My sister, who had told me the night before, that she couldn't drop me to the cemetery because she had a dominoe game planned for Sunday, called and said 3 of the players aren't coming over, so she could give me a ride! I was elated. Suffice it to say, I was also somewhat ticked off that her dominoe game took precedence over a murdered child!
Anyway, earlier on in the day, I bought a gigantic 36 inch balloon for Nixzmary. It's in the shape of a castle with Disney Princess characters like Snow White and Cinderella on it. I was planning on leaving it in front of Nixzmary's apt. for her.
My sister picked me up and we went to the graveyard. There's a big white mausoleum that's about 1 graveyard block from Nixzmary's grave. Because I wanted some privacy, I asked my sister to park at the mausoleum and stay in the vehicle while I walked down the short path to visit Nixzmary. She refused, not wanting to be left alone in front of the mausoleum. I don't know if she thought the dead people in there were going to run out and get her but she insisted on coming with me. She said, "Nooooooooooo! that's a mausoleum! Nooooooooooo! I'm not staying by this mau--so--leum!!!" So she came with me and waited in the vehicle. There's a rose bush that's right next to Nixzmary's grave. The bush had been decorated with mini Christmas bulbs to look like a Chrismas tree. A red bow that said "Merry Christmas" also hung from the bush and a Christmas stocking was on it for Nixzmary. There were lots of dolls at her grave. The ground was covered with snow. It was sad knowing that on this day, 3 years ago, little Nixzmary was murdered. Her head brutally bashed into a bathtub faucet. Her own mother didn't even care about her. Now, as I was standing at her grave, Nixzmary was underneath all of that snow on the ground. It's so wrong. She should be alive and in school and playing with her friends, and laughing and giggling with her little sister, Selena. Instead, she's underneath all of that cold snow on the ground.
Across the road from Nixzmary's grave is the grave of another famous child murder victim, Elisa Izquierdo. Elisa, like Nixzmary, was 1 of 6 children singled out for abuse and murdered by her mother when she was only 6 years old. Her mother would keep her locked up in her room, beat her, starve her, wouldn't let her watch tv or play with her siblings, she violated her with a toothbrush, tied her up and violated her with a hairbrush, forced her to eat her own feces and held her upside down and mopped the floor with the little girl's head. Elisa's mother finally killed her by bashing her head into a concrete wall. Elisa's grave, unlike Nixzmary's, was bare and empty. It made me sad and it hurt my heart to see it. I took my bare hand and wiped off the ice that was frozen on her tiny 5 x 7 inch headstone that lay flat to the ground. You can learn more about Elisa by going to www.myspace.com/elisaizquierdo
On our way out of the graveyard, we stopped off at another murdered child's grave. A little 3 year old girl named, Elea-cha Oliver Ragoo. You have to pass her grave to get to Nixzmary's. She was murdered by her mother's boyfriend in July of 2008 for throwing up some yogurt. Her mother left her to be babysitted by her boyfriend. Elea-cha had a stomach ailment and was given some yogurt to soothe her stomach. When she threw up the yogurt, the boyfriend became so enraged that he murdered her. There's no tombstone, just plastic flowers encircling the grave. I heard the cemetery refused to allow her father's side of the family to place a tombstone down for her, claiming that the mother can always have it removed since she has legal custody of the body. So there's no tombstone. Her grave contained a large plastic bag of toys that she played with in life, including a Mickey Mouse doll and a photo of her in the bag. Pictures.
After we left, my sister went home and I hopped on the subway to Nixzmary's apt. Carrying a 36 inch. balloon in the shape of a castle on the subway was an experience.
Walking to the apt. I actually fell down on the ice. I landed on my palms. Miraculously, there was no blood! I've been to the apt. before, so I knew where I was going.
When I got there, I was expecting to see some sort of memorial outside of the building where Nixzmary died, but there was nothing! This really surprised me because it was Sunday and most people don't work on Sunday. Granted the area is "rough" but alot of people have cars and can come with someone during the daytime. All these people on the internet, screaming about how much they "love" her, where were they??? There were no pictures of her, no flowers, NO NOTHING for little Nixzmary. I tied the balloon I bought for her to a window on the outside of the red brick building. Then I had a small picture of Nixzmary, in her Power Ranger suit, that I scotch taped to the frame of the front door. She looked cute, smiling.
I walked with my camera and stepped across the street to take a photo of the building. (across the street is Tompkins Park where Nixzmary was allowed to go, but forbidden from playing with anyone, by Cesar) When I was across the street, a young Hispanic male, maybe 12 or 13 years old, came out of Nixzmary's building.
I walked back over to the building and when I turned the knob on the front door, it was open! As soon as you open the door, there's a staircase. The floor in front of the stairs was black and white checkered tiles. To the right of the front door was another door for the first floor apt. The staircase including the bannister was a chocolate brown color. The walls were chocolate brown on the bottom and white on the top. The paint was peeling off of the walls and bannister. The stairs were noticable old and were flecked with spots. Maybe paint? To to the top of the staircase was a long fluorescent light. I started up the stairs slowly, not believing I was really going to be right outside of Nixzmary's apt door.
When I was halfway up the stairs, the young boy came back. I said hi and asked him if he was related to Ulbis Rivera. (Rivera was the upstairs neighbor who Nixzaliz ran to for help) he said yes, that he was her son. Rivera is an older woman so I was shocked that she had a son so young. As you go up the stairs, on the second floor landing is apt. 4, Nixzmary's apt. I asked him if that was Nixzmary's apt ( I knew it was) and he said yes and that the door was locked. Afterwards, he walked up to the 3rd fl. where he lives.
When you're on the 2nd fl. landing there's another set of stairs leading up to the 3rd. fl. where Rivera lives. It was about 3 o'clock. Nixzmary's apt. door was silver and there was a doorknob tag that said "Optimum" hanging from the knob. (that's a cable co. in New York City) All I wanted to do was touch the doorknob to feel what Nixzmary felt. When I touched the doorknob and turned it to the right and pushed, A MIRACLE HAPPENED!!!
NIXZMARY'S DOOR OPENED UP!!!
My stomach dropped. I couldn't believe it! My heart was beating so fast. I took a deep breath. I was scared that someone would be inside and mad but when I pushed it open even further I saw that the place was bare and empty. There were buckets of paint on the wooden floor to the right of the front door. I walked in slowly and kept breathing in deeply. I immediately tried to shut the door. The door was creaking loudly so I had to shut it very slowly so the neighbors upstairs wouldn't hear it closing. I found myself in the living room. It was empty except for a black umbrella and buckets of paint lying on the polished wooden floor.
As I turned to the left, I found myself in the kitchen. This was the same kitchen where hot, home cooked meals were being cooked for the whole family, except Nixzmary. Denied food from this kitchen. So hungry and emaciated that she had to eat cat food. The apartment is shaped like an "H", only with the left hand side of the "H" cut off. The middle part is the front door and to the left of the front door is a fuse box and a closet. The upper part of the "H" is first, the kitchen, then a hallway. Down that hall is the bathroom on the right, Nixzmary's room on the left and the children's room at the end of the hall. (the top of the "H") On the lower portion of the "H" is the living room, then Cesar and Nixzaliz's room. After I checked the whole apartment to make sure no one else was there, I went back to the front door and chain locked it. Then I locked the doorknob. Now, I was safe. No one could just walk in on me because the door was locked from the inside. There was no one in here except for me and the spirit of little Nixzmary Brown, murdered 3 years ago, today.
Walking down the short hallway, the first room on the right is the bathroom. The ceiling in there was ripped, so you could see the floorboards from the ceiling. I was scared a rat would come out of the ceiling. There was wood and chunks of plaster all over the floor. The walls had roses on the ceramic tiles. Standing in the doorway, to the right, was the toilet. It had plaster inside of the bowl that had probably fallen in there from the ripped ceiling. This is the same toilet that Cesar would dunk the children's heads into for punishment. To the left of the toilet was the sink with a black medicine cabinet above. The sink had plaster inside and atop of the counter. Opposite the doorway was the bathtub. This was the same tub that Nixzmary's head was bashed into 3 years ago today.
I carefully stepped across the wood and plaster on the floor and made my way to the tub. There was dust, 2 rubber mats in the shape and size of human feet and a broom inside of the tub. There's a step that you have to walk up to get up to the tub. . I walked up that step and got inside of the tub. This is the same bathtub that Nixzmary was forced into. I have no clue whether or not they changed the faucet, but the faucet that was there, I touched. There was a window in back of the bathtub that was opened. I wondered if it was opened 3 years ago, today, and if the neighbors could hear from that window, the sound of a little girl being murdered? The tub itself was small. Only 2 1/2 to 3 feet. I stepped outside of the tub and put the water in the tub on. I tried to imagine what Nixzmary must have felt to have her head being dunked under that cold water. To have Cesar bash her head into that bathtub faucet. There was no electricity in the apartment. Only the water was working. I shut it off.
Directly across from the bathroom (maybe 1 foot and a half across) was Nixzmary's room. I stood in the doorway, for a moment, and looked in. It was an extremely narrow room, approximately 15 x 7 feet. The floor was made of polished wooden panels. There was a black children's bedframe at the far end of the room. On the back wall was a window and to the right of the window, inches away, was the radiator that Nixzmary's chair was tied to. The wall to the right hand side of the door was painted gray and the wall opposite was painted white. There was no closet in this room.
I immediately noticed a gigantic roach, about the size of a New York City waterbug, lying dead on the floor. It made me mad that there was this disgusting roach in Nixzmary's room. There was white cable wires hanging from the door frame. I took the cable wires and pushed the dead roach to the side of the room with them.
Upon entering this room, my mood immediately grew solemn. I could almost feel the heaviness in the air. I knew what history and what sadness this room held. The torture that went on in here. The radiator that Nixzmary's chair was tied to was only inches from the window. The radiator never worked while Nixzmary was in this room during the winter time. It's a wonder she didn't die from pneumonia.
I looked out the window Nixzmary would have looked out of. Looking down, you see a small backyard area covered with snow. There was a ladder lying on the ground, garbage bags and large concrete blocks. It was all enclosed by a wooden picket fence. In back of the fence was a lot filled with cars. The cars all had snow atop of them. Beyond the lot with the cars was an apartment building. You can't see the street because Nixzmary's room is at the back of the house. I wondered if, when Nixzmary was held prisoner in this room, would she come look out of this window for comfort? Would she imagine she was outside? Would she be looking over at the apartment building trying to find another human being to talk to so she wouldn't be alone? Maybe waving to them from the window? What comfort could she have found in an empty backyard used for storage? What comfort could she have found in a lot of empty cars? What comfort could she have found looking at an apartment building ? Then again, children are resilient and they find wonder in everyday things most of us take for granted. Maybe she imagined she was out there having adventures, maybe she was looking up at the stars, maybe the birds. Maybe lights flickering on and off from the apartment building. People moving in the windows. I hope she found some comfort from this window.
Being in this room was hard for me. To stand there and know that right in here, right where I'm standing, on this polished wooden floor, a little 7 year old was being raped orally, was being molested. Her siblings acutally witnessed it. That right in this room, where I'm standing, Nixzmary was being beaten with a black leather belt. She cried and wailed in this room from those beatings. I walked over to the spot where the chair would've been by the radiator. Right here, she was kept bound like an animal to a chair. Kept duct taped and tied up right in this spot. Had to use a cat litterbox right here. It was in this room, 3 years ago, today, that Cesar, when he got finished bashing Nixzmary's head into the bathtub faucet, brought her back in here, naked, duct taped her mouth and started kicking poor little Nixzmary all over her body. She was beaten to death in here. Naked and duct taped into silence. Her tears must have streamed out of her eyes and onto the gray duct tape over her mouth. This is the room that her blood was found all over. Blood on the walls, blood on the floor, blood on the mattresses, blood on the litterbox. All in here. This room definately has a history. It leaves an imprint on the space and nothing can change that. I looked on the floors trying to see if her blood was still there, not wanting to step on it.
I walked over to the spot by the radiator where she was kept tied up. I told her, outloud, how much I loved her, that I wished I was here 3 years ago to protect her, that what she didn't have 3 years ago, she has tonight from me, - love. I told her that I saw her drawing and that I thought it was pretty. I told her how smart she was because she was good in Math. I said I'm not even good in Math. I told her that I heard she wanted to be a doctor and said she would make a good doctor because she's good in Math and you have to be smart like her to be a doctor. I told her how talented she was because she liked drawing and writing stories about her friends. I told her that I wanted to pick her up from the chair and hug her. I said everything that I needed to say to her. How many people get a chance to spend 3 hours in Nixzmary Brown's apartment on the very night she died? That fact was not lost on me.
Afterwards, I went into the children's room. This is the room that she actually died in. The children's room is at the end of the hall, right next to Nixzmary's room, which was on the left. The children's room was approx. 15 x 10 feet. The floor was made of polished wood. There were two windows in this room, one on the back wall opposite the door, and the other one on the side wall to the right. There was a small closet on the same wall with the door. The radiator that Nixzmary died in front of was directly opposite the door. These are old fashioned gray iron radiators. When I got there, there was a black garbage bag in the middle of the room filled with junk. There was also a child's basketball lying on the floor. The white wall to the left of the door was drawn on with crayons.
When I was in here, I called my mother to tell her where I was. She told me to "get out of there", but I just couldn't leave Nixzmary. Not tonight.
When I was in this room, I heard the pitter patter of little feet, running, coming from upstairs and a little girl squeeling with delight, "eeeeeeeee"! The baby was running and screaming happily. Rivera had a child up there. Don't know who she is. It was in that moment that it occured to me that the most beautiful sound in the world, is the sound of little children at play, squeeling and screaming with delight. Hearing this child put me at ease and I wasn't so scared being alone. How could you be after listening to a child being happy? I also then smelled the aroma of a stew cooking. It might have come from upstairs. It made me sad that Nixzmary couldn't eat good food and couldn't experience the happiness coming from upstairs. I found myself getting jealous of the people from upstairs that they were eating good food and they were happy and Nixzmary wasn't. I also heard the sound of a dog barking, constantly, coming from upstairs. I wondered, that if I could hear them upstairs, could they have heard what went on downstairs?
This room, the children's room, is the room that Nixzmary actually died in, in front of the radiator. After Cesar finished beating and kicking Nixzmary all over, and left her, naked, on the floor of her room, Nixzaliz came back 2-3 hours later to check on her. When she saw that she was cold, she took Nixzmary into the bathroom and ran a warm bath for her. Afterwards she dressed her in a red sweatsuit, wrapped her in blankets and put her on the floor by the working radiator in the children's room to warm up. When Nixzaliz was getting ready to leave the room, Nixzmary moaned, "mommy, mommy, don't leave me"! Nixzaliz left her anyway and went into her bedroom to go be with Cesar. Nixzmary died on the floor in front of the radiator.
In the children's room, I stood right by the spot on the floor where Nixzmary died. This was hard for me but it was something that I had to do. I told her out loud how much I loved her. I also swore to her, on the floor that she died on, that one day, if I ever have a little girl, I would name her middle name, "Nixzmary", in honor of her. I also swore to Nixzmary, on the floor that she died on, that I would make sure that people all over the world know her story. That people on every continent, know her story. I already have some ideas about how I'm going to go about this. It may not happen right away, but years into the future, it'll come to pass. I brought my fingers up to my lips and gently kissed them, then put my hand on the floor where she died. I kept my hand there trying to send my love down to that spot on the floor.
From the doorway of the children's room to the doorway of Cesar and Nixzaliz's room, I approximated to be 30 feet. From the back wall of the children's room to the back wall of Cesar and Nixzaliz's room was approx. 50 feet. The apartment was actually alot bigger than I thought it would be. Standing in the doorway of the children's room, I could see the doorway of Cesar and Nixzaliz's room. As I looked up towards her mother's bedroom door, I wondered how a mother could be so close by and leave her little daughter on the floor bruised and moaning after she just got beaten? How do you turn away from a child when they're calling out, "mommy"? A little skinny 7 year old, emaciated and wasted away, with two raccoon-like black eyes, a gash over her right eye with stitches still in there because you never cared enough to take her back to the hospital to get them removed. A gigantic gash to her chin that was scabbed. Bruises and cuts and scrapes in all shapes and colors, all over her little body. 36 pounds. Defenseless. No one to protect her. No biological father to come rescue her, no mother willing to lay down her life for her. Just a selfish, greedy woman named Nixzaliz Santiago, who cared more about her own hide and her own financial security, than protecting her defenseless little daughter from being raped, beaten and tortured.
It was in that moment, standing in the children's room and looking up at her mother's bedroom door, down the hall, that I realized that the prosecutor, Ama Dwimoh, was right when she said in closing, "there are certain crimes, that by their very nature, are so egregious, heinous, callous, devoid of morality or compassion, that they are worthy of the maximum consecutive sentence of incarceration that our law allows". What she allowed to be done to her daughter was so wicked, so evil, so inhuman. To allow your little 7 year old daughter to be raped by your husband. To hear your daughter crying out from being beaten with a belt and not stop it. To deny her food to the point where she's wasted to 36 pounds, the weight of a 4 year old.
Dr. Simpao, Nixzmary's pediatrician, who's Filipino said at Cesar's trial, upon seeing the autopsy photos of Nixzmary, that he's never seen a child in that condition in this country. That the last time he's seen children in that condition was in his country in the Phillipines, where children are starving from being malnourished.
When Nixzmary died, she looked like an Aushwitz victim and that's not something that I say lightly. At the trial, looking at her autopsy photos, the last time I had seen photos like that, was when I looked at photos from Aushwitz.
Here's what the rest of the apartment looked like- the kitchen: when you're coming into the apt from the front door and you walk to the left, you're in the kitchen. On the left wall there's a white fridge with Spider-Man stickers all over it. Next to the fridge, to the right, was the sink with a gray marble countertop. There was cereal and other food left out on the countertop and inside of the sink. Next to the sink, to the right, was the stove. Above the stove was a window. After the stove there's the right hand wall of the kitchen. Against the right hand wall and next to the stove, was a washing machine that had hoses coming out of it. When Nixzaliz lived there, she had both a washing machine and a dryer. Opposite the fridge was a large window. Looking out of the window, on all 3 sides, all you see are the surrounding brick apartment windows of the neighbors. There's a radiator next to this window.
When I opened up the fridge, I was HORRIFIED!
There were dead roaches all over the inside of the refridgerator!! They were just lying there, brown, upside down and dead! Their legs were up in the air, their antennas were sticking out. There was an open package of sugar on the inside of the fridge door. I was horrified! It startled me seeing them. It also disturbed me because, unless they changed the fridge, this is the same fridge that held the food for children. The same fridge that little Nixzmary once took a strawberry Jello pudding snack from. I was upset seeing this. I know Nixzmary is no longer there but I couldn't help but think, how dare these insects invade her fridge!?
The next room over from the kitchen, going towards the front door, is the living room. This is a small room. It had polished wooden floors, a ceiling fan and a window on the left wall, closest to the kitchen. There's no view from the window except the surrounding neighbors apartment windows. There's a radiator about a foot or so away from the window.
Past the living room is Cesar and Nixzaliz's room. This is the largest bedroom in the whole house. Their bedroom has three windows. The same three windows that you see when you look at a photo of Nixzmary's apt. from the outside, well those three windows on the 2nd. floor, are in Cesar and Nixzaliz's room. Looking out the windows from their room, you see a spectacular view of Tompkins Park. The apt is directly across the street from the park. You can see people sitting on the benches, the trees, the grass. You see a bodega (Spanish convenience store) to the left of the park. All three of the windows were cracked open to let air in and on the window to the far right was a Spider-Man sticker. There was also a red fire extinguisher on the window ledge on this window. The floor was made of polished wood. A radiator was in the right hand corner of the room, looking in from the doorway. A gray bin with what appeared to be black electrical equipment inside, was lying on the floor. There was an electrical outlet on the right hand wall. The plaster surrounding the outlet was ripped so there appeared to be a hole in the wall surrounding the outlet.
Cesar and Nixzaliz slept in this room along with the two babies, Cesar Augustine (18 months) and Cesar Gabriel (6 months) At Nixzaliz's trial, Detective Bello said that this room was set up for 5 people to sleep in. I'm not sure if Nixzmary's little sister, Selena also slept in here. The children's room only had two beds. I would assume they would be for Javier and Edward, Nixzmary's half-brothers. This room was also the room where Nixzaliz kept the fetus that she miscarried. She placed it in a jar and kept it on the dresser. Cesar's attorney, Jeff Schwartz, said that she would pray to it. I don't know how true that is.
I spent a total of 3 hours in this apartment. I left a little after 6 o'clock. After 5 o'clock it got so dark that the only light coming into the apartment was from the street lights outside, illuminating from the window. I was inside of the apartment, LITERALLY in the DARK, for about one hour. Just the street lights from outside illuminating in.
JUST THINK, 3 YEARS AGO, TONIGHT, A MURDER HAPPENED IN THIS APARTMENT THAT WOULD BRING NEW YORK CITY TO A STAND STILL. Three years later, on the very day it happened, the apartment is abandoned. There's nobody here. Where is everybody??? This was a case that caused an overhaul to the City's ACS system, a case that received nationwide media attention, a case that New Yorkers are still talking about 3 years later. Where is everyone? There's no one here, except me, Dovesblood, here in the dark, my silhouette, casting a shadow on the floor. 3 years ago, this apartment was filled with cops coming in and out, arresting people, removing children, collecting evidence, taking photographs. 3 years later, to the day, there's nobody here. The place is abandoned. There's just me, here in the dark, with nothing but the street lights from outside coming in.
I wasn't scared being in the dark. First, the door was locked so I knew no one could just walk in on me. Secondly, if there was a spirit in here, I knew it would be Nixzmary's, which is why I came here in the first place. I didn't want Nixzmary being alone. Not tonight, of all nights. I had to be brave for her. That's why I stayed in the dark. To keep her company so she wouldn't have to be alone tonight. So she'd know that she was loved tonight.
I spent a total of 3 hours in the apartment. Most of the time I spent in Nixzmary's room and the children's room where she died on the floor. What did I do for 3 hours? Like I said before, I took photos, I told her I loved her for 3 hours, I told her that what she didn't have 3 years ago, she had from me tonight, - love. I stood on the exact spot where her body was found and I swore to her, on the floor that she died on, that one day, if I ever have a little girl, I would name her middle name, "Nixzmary", in honor of her. I swore to her, on the floor that she died on, that I would make sure that people all over the world know about her story. That people on every continent, know the story of Little Nixzmary Brown.
A little after 6 o'clock, I would leave. I knew I couldn't stay there forever, although I wanted to. I put my hand up and waived goodbye to her in the children's room. Then I walked over to Nixzmary's room. Saying goodbye to her in her room was the hardest part for me. I couldn't bear to leave her. I felt like I was abandoning her. This was the hardest part. To say goodbye to her in this room, in HER room. Right now, as I type this, it pains me to even think about when I had to leave that room. About when I had to leave her in there. I didn't want to leave her in there. I felt guilty for leaving and still do. The room was pitch black for the most part. Only a small amount of light coming in from the window. After I said my goodbye to her in here, I walked out into the hall and stood in the doorway to her room. I looked in at the darkness. Was she in there? I put my right hand up to waive and said gently, "Goodbye, Nixzmary".
Afterwards, I walked over to the front door to leave. I had to open the door really slowly because it creaked loudly and I didn't want the upstairs neighbor to hear it. I managed to get it open but when I had to lock it from the outside, the door made alot of noise. To late. I'm sure they heard. I locked it fast and practically flew down the stairs. I unlocked the front door, closed it behind me and stepped out into the cold, snow filled, Brooklyn night. Standing outside, in front of the apartment, I looked up at the second floor window. I wondered if Little Nixzmary was at the window watching me?
May 15th 2008 was Nixzmary Brown's step-father, Cesar Rodriguez's weapons sentencing at Bronx Supreme Court. He had already been sentenced for the manslaughter in Brooklyn. This was for a jail violation. Guards found 2 homemade knives in his cell at Rikers and brought him up on charges of "promoting prison contraband". Rodriguez took a plea of 1-3 years and today was his sentencing.
The Supreme Court was a tall building made of green glass, located on the Grand Concourse. The hearing was before Judge Steven Barrett, whose courtroom was on the lower level. You have to ride a long escalator to get down to that floor. If you're afraid of heights, forget about it.
I got there an hour early. As I was waiting in the hall, I was thinking about little Nixzmary in her red Power Rangers costume. They brought a young prisoner whose arms and legs were shackled, right past me and everyone else in the hall and into a courtroom. Surprisingly, there was no media there.
On the right hand side of the courtroom were filing cabinets that a latina was putting away files in and there was also a door that inmates were brought out of. On the left hand side of the room was the jury box. The judge, Steven Barrett, was dressed in a black suit instead of the traditional judge's robe. The guards were sitting at a table socializing with each other. One of them wore a keychain with a picture of a woman in a swimsuit, dangling from his waist. One of the lawyers was reading a book in the first row.
When court started, there were long periods where no cases were called. The judge was on the bench reading a newspaper, people were talking loudly in the aisles, the guards were carrying on amongst themselves. The leader was telling the guard with the swimsuit keychain, "don't be a girly man", displaying his blatent homophobia.
BEEEEEEEEP, BEEEEEEEEP, BEEEEEEEEP
People put their hands up to their ears, moans and groans in the aisles. Throughout the 3 hours I was there, a fire alarm continuously went off. People looked around to see if they should leave or stay in the building and be burned up. People choose to stay.
When cases were being called, the courtroom was as loose as a goose. The people in the aisles were talking loudly, not whispering. Lots of times, the spectators were so loud that the attorneys couldn't hear themselves and had to look back to the aisles as if to tell them to be quiet but no officers said anything and the conversations kept flowing. At one point the clerk left and the judge answered the phone. While the attorneys were arguing cases, people were walking from the jury box to the other side of the room continuously. It was back and forth, walking across the room past the judge during oral arguments.
BEEEEEEEEEEEP, BEEEEEEEEEEEP , BEEEEEEEEEEEP!
People put their hands to their ears once again, moans and groans coming from the aisles, people shook their heads. It was the fire alarm again. A woman's voice came over the loudspeaker in a very thick spanish accent saying there was a problem on the fourth floor and they were taking care of it. Her accent was so thick, I could barely decipher the words.
The leader guard said "If it were a real problem, she ( loudspeaker woman) wouldn't know what to do and would be panicing with everybody else."Then he said that if it were a real problem that he would be "out the door", and said to the other guards sitting at the table "you're on your own"! I sat there and thought "that's comforting". The guards didn't say anything. They just sat there and stared at there fearless leader.
An Indian lawyer walked into the room and sat in the first row. He had a manila file in his hand and when I looked at the name on the file , it said "Cesar Rodriguez". Then I realized, this was no Indian man, this was Michael Torres, Cesar's attorney!
There was a Nixzmary supporter in the room named, Natasha. I recognized her from Cesar's trial in Brooklyn. She was there every single day to show support for Nixzmary. Torres sat right in front of her.
At about 12 o'clock, they brought Cesar out through a side door located LESS THAT 5 FEET AWAY FROM THE FIRST ROW AISLE! His head was shaved and he wore a green prison jacket and green pants. He was kept handcuffed throughout the hearing. Michael Torres stood to Cesar's left and patted him on the hand up and down, when they brought him out.
The phone rang and the judge answered it, talking on the phone while Cesar was standing there handcuffed! I looked at my watch because the conversation seemed never ending. Finally, he got off the phone.
The judge pointed out that this was a plea bargain, that Cesar was a first time offender and stated that regardless of whatever happens on appeal in the case in Brooklyn, that he has to do the 1-3 year sentence. Then the judge sentenced Cesar to 1-3 years CONCURRENT with the 29 year sentence handed down in Brooklyn.
What concurrent means is that if a defendant is convicted of two or more crimes that have different sentences, all the sentences may be served AT THE SAME TIME, with the largest sentence controlling. If the sentence was consecutive, then Cesar would've gotten an extra 1-3 years added on to the 29 years, but concurrent means he'll be doing the 1-3 years at the same time that he's doing the 29 year sentence WITH NO EXTRA TIME ADDED ON! NOT ONLY DID CESAR GET AWAY WITH MURDER, BUT NOW, HE JUST GOT AWAY WITH PROMOTING PRISON CONTRABAND!!! The ba$tard is probably feeling on top of the world. First, Schwartz gets him off the hook on a murder rap and now Torres makes sure he doesn't do any extra time for possessing weapons! Unbelievable.
While the sentence is being read, Natasha, whose right up to the first row, sitting right near the door where Cesar has to walk through, looks noticably agitated. As the three guards are walking Cesar away from the defense table and towards the door, Natasha stands up and shouts "YOU'RE A PIECE OF $HIT"!!! The guards stop Cesar right in front of her. The two of them are only about 10 feet away from each other. You would think that the guards would keep walking, but no, THEY STOPPED AND MADE HIM STAND THERE 10 FEET AWAY FROM HER to listen to everything. He turns his face to look at her and she says "YEAH, YOU"!!! He mouths something to her but it was barely audible, then he turns his face to look straight ahead. Still the guards keep him there 10 feet in front of her. Then she says " YOU'RE GONNA BE RAPED! AND WHEN IT HAPPENS, THINK ABOUT NIXZMARY!!! YOU THINK ABOUT HER! YOU'RE GONNA BE RAPED IN THERE, YOU'RE GONNA BE RAPED!!!!" He turns back to look at her and the two of them are eye to eye, 10 feet from each other. Still the guards aren't moving. One of them said "mam, please, no" but they still stood there with him like frozen statues. At this point, the whole courtroom is silent with all eyes on Cesar and Natasha, watching the whole drama unfold. Then she says " YOU'RE GONNA DIE, YOU'RE GONNA BE BEAT UP, YOU'RE GONNA BE RAPED"!!!!! After that, the guards move him out from in front of her and through the door.
As soon as he crosses the threshold of the door, she shouts out " Biiiiiiiiitch"!!! Then she grabs her bag from off the bench and walks to the center aisle. Silence everywhere. All eyes glued on her. Then she looks back at the door Cesar just went through and shouts loud enough for him to hear "BABY KILLER"!!! She hurries out the courtroom, not looking back. She ran, not walked up the big, gigantic escalator and flew through the courthouse doors onto the street.
I caught up with her outside. She recognized me because I also attended Cesar's trial in Brooklyn. She said she came because she knew it would be the last time anyone from New York City got to see Cesar before he goes upstate and thought she was coming to witness him get a couple of extra years tacked onto his sentence. Instead he got no extra time at all! She said that her heart was beating so hard, that it was LITERALLY banging against her chest during the confrontation. She also said that she's thankful to Judge Barrett for not citing her for contempt of court. She said that's why she practically flew out the building. She also said that if she knew in advance that she wasn't going to be cited, that she would've said more and regrets not saying more.
We were talking about Nixzmary and she told me about an article written by a New York Post report reporter, Andrea Peyser, in 2006. Peyser went to Nixzmary's school, P.S.256, to interview the kids about Nixzmary. She learned that even though Nixzmary was frail and weak, she was still fast and graceful. She played tag, she played ball, she played Double Dutch. What Natasha told me next about what the article reported, made me develop a newfound respect for Nixzmary. I'm going to quote from the New York Post article written by Andrea Peyser :
"Though she had next to nothing, Nixzmary was the kind of girl who gave away what little she had. "She was my best friend" Mya Thomas told me yesterday. The doe eyed 7 year old stood under the careful watch of her mother outside P.S. 256, terrified to go inside. Why did you love her so much she was asked. The child did not hesitate. "Because she shared with me" said Mya. "When I didn’t have any snacks she shared hers with me." So the child who was starving gave her precious pretzels to a child who was merely hungry. Mya brushed away a tear.
Photo: Community activist, Awilda Cordero, holding a copy of Nixzmary's Law. She raised the funds to bury Nixzmary and was instrumental in the creation of Nixzmary's Law.
By: Dovesblood
On Friday October 9th 2009 the Governor of the State of New York, David Patterson, signed into law, "Nixzmary's Law" that would make the maximum penalty for murdering a child in a cruel or wanton manner, life in prison.
Nixzmary Brown was a 7 year old girl who was starved to a skeletal looking 36 pounds, imprisoned in her room, kept duct taped to a chair, raped orally, forced to use a cat’s litter box for a bathroom & eat cat food, then finally beaten to death, her head bashed into a bathtub faucet, for taking a strawberry Jello pudding snack from her family’s fridge and over a broken computer printer. Her death caused an overhaul to New York City’s ACS (child protective services) system and today, Friday, October 9th 2009, three years after little Nixzmary was brutally murdered, the Governor of the State Of New York, David Patterson, signed a law bearing her name to protect children. The new law says that the maximum punishment for torturing a child to death is life in prison. Here's a quote from the Governor's press release:
"The signed bills include A.5080 / S.6091 – often referred to as “Nixzmary’s Law” – which amends the murder statute to add a new subsection addressing the murder of a child less than 14 in an “especially cruel and wanton manner” and authorizing a sentence of life without parole."
To read more articles on today’s historical Bill signing, click the following links:
The New York Senate has finally approved the "Nixzmary Brown Bill"! The bill calls for life without parole for those that cause a child's death in a cruel and wanton manner. The bill is now about to be sent to the New York Governor, David Patterson. Patterson hasn't said if he'll sign the bill into law.
Senate Approves “Nixzmary Brown Bill” Posted by Ruben Diaz on Friday, September 11th, 2009
"[Albany, NY] Last night Senate Bill 6091, better known as the Nixzmary Brown Bill has passed in the New York State Senate. With the hope that it will help raise awareness during this new school year, and deter child abuse and neglect in New York State, Senator Reverend Rubén Díaz, Sr. (D-Bronx), the bill’s sponsor, has pushed for this legislation to be passed during today’s Senate’s Session.
“Each time we bring these tragedies to light, it helps us all to be more mindful of our responsibilities as parents, neighbors, teachers, clergy and citizens to protect our children,” stated Senator Rev. Díaz. “It is my hope that none of us will ignore the signals from children who suffer child abuse and neglect and realize our responsibilities to those children. It is my prayer that children like Nixzmary Brown will not die at the hands of their caregivers, but will be protected from their abusers.
Nixzmary Brown was a seven year old child who, on January 11, 2006 died of blow to the head. She was being punished for eating a yogurt. Her mother and stepfather were convicted for her death and the severe and persistent abuse that they inflicted upon her during her brief life.
“I thank my colleagues in the Senate for joining me today to pass this legislation,” stated Senator Diaz. “When a person abuses a child and causes their death in a cruel and wanton manner, they should be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole and should never be conditionally released.”
Senate Bill 6091 is co-sponsored by Senator Hiram Monserrate, Senator Geroge Onorato and Senator Suzi Oppenheimer.
For further information, please contact Senator Diaz at 518/455-2511"
Here's another article on the Nixzmary Brown Bill. The bill is awaiting New York Governor, David Patterson's signature. Patterson hasn't said if he'll sign the bill into law.
posted by gov_wire Fri, 09/11/2009 - 9:40am For Immediate ReleaseSeptember 11, 2009Senate Approves “Nixzmary Brown Bill”
"[Albany, NY] Last night Senate Bill 6091, better known as the Nixzmary Brown Bill has passed in the New York State Senate. With the hope that it will help raise awareness during this new school year, and deter child abuse and neglect in New York State, Senator Reverend Rubén Díaz, Sr. (D-Bronx), the bill’s sponsor, has pushed for this legislation to be passed during today’s Senate’s Session.“Each time we bring these tragedies to light, it helps us all to be more mindful of our responsibilities as parents, neighbors, teachers, clergy and citizens to protect our children,” stated Senator Rev. Díaz. “It is my hope that none of us will ignore the signals from children who suffer child abuse and neglect and realize our responsibilities to those children. It is my prayer that children like Nixzmary Brown will not die at the hands of their caregivers, but will be protected from their abusers. Nixzmary Brown was a seven year old child who, on January 11, 2006 died of blow to the head. She was being punished for eating a yogurt. Her mother and stepfather were convicted for her death and the severe and persistent abuse that they inflicted upon her during her brief life.“I thank my colleagues in the Senate for joining me today to pass this legislation,” stated Senator Diaz. “When a person abuses a child and causes their death in a cruel and wanton manner, they should be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole and should never be conditionally released.”Senate Bill 6091 is co-sponsored by Senator Hiram Monserrate, Senator Geroge Onorato and Senator Suzi Oppenheimer.For further information, please contact Senator Diaz at 518/455-2511***"
Murder Victim. Starved, unloved & beaten to death! On January 11th. 2006, 7 year old Nixzmary Brown was murdered by her stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, for taking a Strawberry Jello Pudding Snack from her family's fridge and over a broken computer printer.
Nixzmary Brown's stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, would keep her imprisoned in a dirty spare room. He tied rope from her doorknob to another doorknob on the outside so she couldn't escape. He duct taped her to a chair for hours everyday and duct taped her mouth so she couldn’t cry out. He tied a bungee cord around her ankle and attached it to the chair so whenever she would move her foot, it would be cut. Cesar would beat Nixzmary everyday with a black leather belt and rape the 7 year old, repeatedly. Her siblings actually witnessed it. Because Nixzmary was kept imprisoned in her room she was forced to use a cat’s litter box for a toilet. Cesar left her nothing but cat food to eat while her 5 siblings were fed hot, home cooked meals. All of this was done while her mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, turned a blind eye! When Nixzmary died at 7 years old, she weighed just 36 pounds, the weight of a 4 year old.
The family left Nixzmary, who was emaciated with two black eyes at home and went out on a fun filled shopping trip to the neighborhood Target. They bought Bratz dolls, Play Dough, Power Rangers, Hot Wheels. Nothing was bought for little Nixzmary. Snacks and treats were also purchased for the children. One of those snacks was Jello Pudding.
When Cesar was told that a Strawberry Jello Pudding Snack was missing and his printer was broken he beat Nixzmary in front of her mother then dragged her kicking and screaming into the bathroom, where he threw her into the bathtub like mat! He dunked her head repeatedly under the cold water as punishment. Her head was fatally bashed into the bathtub faucet. Her mother heard her crying out, “ai, ai, mommy, mommy”! The mom came, told him to stop, then left – more concerned about her own hide! Afterwards, Cesar dragged a naked Nixzmary back to her room, duct taped her mouth and started punching & kicking her all over her body. Because she was duct taped, no one heard her crying out. Afterwards her mother checked up on her later and saw that she was cold. She gave her a bath, dressed her in warm pajamas and layed her down on the floor next to the radiator to warm up. As the mother, was leaving, little Nixzmary called out, “mommy, mommy, don’t leave me”! Those were Nixzmary Brown’s last words. Her mother left her lying there and went into the other room to be with her husband.
Little Nixzmary died on the floor a few hours later from bleeding on the brain. When Officer Eric Nolan arrived at the apartment, what he saw lying on the wooden floor would send shock waves through the entire City Of New York, cause an overhaul to the City's ACS System and leave people crying for years later and asking, how could this have happened and why? There, lying on the wooden floor, was the body of 7 year old Nixzmary Brown. She was naked from the waist up wearing only a pair of red sweat pants that hung loosely from her rail thin frame. Her head, turned to her left, was resting upon a balled up sweatshirt and lavender top being used as a makeshift pillow. Her entire face was sunken in from emaciation. She had two raccoon-like black eyes that were half open. A gash over her right eye, a large scab on her chin. Her right hand was resting on her chest and her left hand was sprawled out onto the floor. Bruises of every shape and color, in various stages of healing, were going up and down her entire body. Blue, purple, brown, and green bruises. Nixzmary was so thin you could see the bones right through her skin. The crimescene photo taken of Nixzmary on the floor, looked more like a corpse that had been lying on the floor dead for days instead of a child that had just died. (She literally looked like an Aushwitz victim and that's not something that I say lightly.)
Three years later, Cesar Rodriguez would go on trial for the murder of Nixzmary Brown. After a 3 month circus of a trial, Rodriguez was acquitted of murder and found guilty of Manslaughter 1. He was sentenced to 29 years in prison. Nixzmary's mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, also acquitted of murder, was sentenced to 43 years in prison, almost a decade more than her husband!
(These are my notes for Cesar Rodriguez's trial on the day that the prison snitch testified. An inmate testified that Nixzaliz Santiago confessed to her that she was the one who dealt the fatal blow to Nixzmary in the bathtub. That after Cesar left the bathroom, she remained and bashed Nixzmary's head into the faucet.)
By: Dovesblood
On Tuesday, Judge Hall ordered everyone out of the courtroom so that a jailhouse snitch could testify that Nixzaliz Santiago told her that she killed Nixzmary Brown.
The day started like any other day. They opened the courtroom doors at 9:30 and everyone came in. People chatted with each other until court started. It was the subject of one of those chats that upset me. A spectator was talking to someone about the prosecution team. (Lead D.A., Ama Dwimoh (ja-mo), Asst. D.A.,Linda Weinman, and Asst. D.A. Anthea Bruffee) The spectator said "Dwimoh and the other two nobodies. I call them nobodies because they're nobodies." Her and the other person laughed. Then if reference to Ms. Bruffee, the spectator said, "and the other one, I could never say her name. Ruffy or Gruffy or Scruffy" she said with disdain in her voice. Linda Weinman and Ms. Bruffee are certainly not "nobodies". Weinman was there from day one, the day Cesar got arrested. She's the D.A. who interviewed Cesar on the video where he admits to beating on Nixzmary. Linda Weinman and Ms. Bruffee are working hard everyday to ensure that little Nixzmary get justice and that her killer doesn't get away with it. They are certainly not "nobodies".
Once the judge came to the bench, she ordered the courtroom cleared. No one was allowed to leave any of their belongings like coats or books behind.
After the press and public filed out of the room, an officer was placed in front of the courtroom door to guard it lest anyone sneak a peak at the snitch. The male officer stood there like he was guarding Fort Knox and not a Rikers snitch.
The press as well as spectators were all seated in the waiting room. People were talking, reading etc.
At lunchtime, rather than doing the usual interviews with the press, the prosecutors walked away. Cesar's attorney, Jeffrey Schwartz, ever the publicity hound, walked over to say "no comment" to everything. Satisfied that he'd gotten enough of the limelight, he left.
After lunch they let everyone back into the courtroom. When the judge got back to the bench, it was deja vu all over again. Apparently, the snitch hadn't finished, so it was out in the hallway again. Courtroom cleared.
This time a female officer was put to guard the door. She did what most females do: chatted it up with another female. They switched and a male officer came. It was Fort Knox time again.
Some of the reporters ran down the hall to cover the acquittal of someone who shot a cop.
At 4pm, the day ended as everyone came out. The prosecution walked away but Mr. Personality, Jeff Schwartz, came back over to say "no comment" to everything. He did reveal that Maria Gonzalez would be testifying tomorrow. When asked by a latina reporter "what do you think she'll say"?, Schwartz answered with a smile "that her daughter is crazy".
I have mixed feelings about this snitch. If she's lying just to get her 15 minutes of fame, doesn't she realize she's planting doubt into the mind of the jury possibly helping to get Nixzmary's killer off? If she's telling the truth, then Nixzaliz is a bigger monster than we all thought.
Child Abuse Headlines.com is a website I publish that is inspired by and dedicated to Nixzmary Brown. It features child abuse news from all across the country, updated daily.: CHILDABUSEHEADLINES.COM
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NEW YORK GOVERNOR SIGNS NIXZMARY'S LAW!
On Friday October 9th 2009, New York's Governor, David Patterson, signed into effect the Nixzmary Brown Law. The law mandates life in prison without parole for those that murder a child under age 14 in an especially cruel and wanton manner. For more information, click
Here.
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Nixzmary Brown was a 7 year old murder victim from New York City. She was murdered by her stepfather for taking a Strawberry Jello Pudding Snack from her family's fridge & over a broken computer printer. I attended Nixzmary's stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez's murder trial, everyday for 3 months. I attended a half a year's worth of pre-trial hearings for Nixzmary's mother, Nixzaliz Santiago. I also attended her 5 week murder trial on a daily basis. I put my life on hold for a whole year so I could be there for Nixzmary. I was a witness to the testimony of Nixzmary Brown's torture death. This site, "The Nixzmary Brown Chronicles" contain my notes for the pre-trial and trial of her mother, Nixzaliz Santiago.
I'm the publisher of a website called Child Abuse Headlines: www.childabuseheadlines.com. The site deals with current child abuse news from all across the country, updated on a daily basis.
SOME MISCELLANEOUS INFO ABOUT ME:
In Chinese Astrology, I was born in the year of the Rabbit. I'm a pure Rabbit, born in the year of the Rabbit and in the hour of the Rabbit. I've been a lacto-vegetarian for the past 18 years for ethical reasons. I aspire to be a Vegan one day. The last time I tried it I was addicted to Cadbury chocolate and my life as a Vegan ended in a week!
