Defense in Nixzmary Brown trial uses fetus to finger mother

A view through a window inside the Brooklyn home where Nixzmary Brown was killed. Jurors in the case were shocked to learn that a fetus was recovered in a jar in the house

BY SCOTT SHIFREL and TRACY CONNORDAILY

NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Friday, January 18th 2008, 3:56 PM

The defense in the Nixzmary Brown trial trotted out a macabre piece of evidence Friday in an attempt to shift the blame from the girl's step-father to her mother.

Two jurors' jaws dropped and one covered her mouth as they looked at the police photo of a 3-month-old fetus in a yellowish jar of fluid.

Lawyer Jeffrey Schwartz is trying to to bolster his argument that Nixzmary's mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, killed her because she blamed the 7-year-old for causing her miscarriage

Outside court, Schwartz, the lawyer for stepfather Cesar Rodriguez, said the remains were from a miscarriage Santiago suffered in November 2005.

"She (the mother) used to pray to it or cry to it or some other ritual she had," Schwartz told reporters during a break in testimony in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

"That shows you she was demented. This is the first of many bombshells that will come. It's a clear picture into the demented mind of Nixzaliz Santiago. She was going through postpartrum depression times two."

Santiago, 29, also faces a murder for the death of Nixzmary.

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Defense in Nixzmary Brown trial uses fetus to finger mother

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