Nixzmary Brown
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Nixzmary Brown Nixzmary
A grand jury charged the mother and stepfather of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown with murder, detailing accusations that the mother had not only allowed a pattern of violent abuse that ended in the girl's death. That pattern approached its climax on Jan. 10 as Nixzmary's siblings were compelled to accuse her of eating yogurt without permission and breaking a computer printer. As punishment, the girl was stripped naked, beaten, dunked in cold water and thrown on the floor to lie untended for hours in a place called 'the dirty room'. The formal charges against the parents, Cesar Rodriguez and Nixzaliz Santiago, were filed as the mayor Michael R. Bloomberg defended his child welfare chief and as a second wave of mourners shuffled through a wake that drew more than 1,000 people in two days.  A grand jury charged the mother and stepfather of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown with murder yesterday, detailing accusations that the mother had not only allowed a pattern of violent abuse that ended in the girl's death, but also participated in it. On Jan. 10 that pattern approached its climax as Nixzmary's siblings were compelled to accuse her of eating yogurt without permission and breaking a computer printer. As punishment the girl was stripped naked, beaten, dunked in cold water and thrown on the floor to lie untended for hours in a place the other children called "the dirty room." Her cries, 'Mommy,' could be heard throughout the apartment. Nixzmary's death has elicited parallels to other cases that prompted the city to overhaul its child services agency, the Administration for Children's Services, which has taken criticism for failing to remove Nixzmary from the family apartment after teachers reported signs of abuse.