Georgia couple who beat their 2-year-old foster daughter to death break into tears as they are convicted of murder
GEORGIA: A Georgia jury on August 1 reportedly convicted a 30-year-old woman and her 29-year-old husband for the 2015 murder of their 2-year-old foster daughter.
According to reports, Laila Daniel had been physically abused and starved in the months leading up to her death
The jury found Jennifer Rosenbaum not guilty of malice murder, but guilty of felony murder and several other charges, including aggravated assault and cruelty to children. Her husband, Joseph Rosenbaum, was also found guilty of several counts, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault and cruelty to children.
Together, they were found guilty on roughly 36 of the 49 charges that were brought against them.
While investigators said that the child died from a strong hit to the stomach, prosecutors claimed that it was part of a long history of abuse. However, the defence claimed that the Rosenbaums were actually trying to save the toddler from choking on a chicken nugget.
"It was the Heimlich manoeuvre gone bad," defence attorney Corinne Mull said, according to WSB-TV.
According to the arrest affidavit against the couple, the child was starved and beaten for months leading up to her death. The affidavit also states that Jennifer struck her foster daughter in the abdomen “with such force that [the toddler’s] pancreas was transected. The child was believed to enter shock due to blood loss resulting from the injury.”
People reports that the affidavit also said the toddler had suffered severe bruising throughout her body and that she was malnourished.
Prosecutors asked for life in prison without parole for Jennifer and 70 years with 50 to serve for her husband. The prosecution argued that the child's age, the evidence of prior abuse, and a pattern of abuse should be taken into consideration.
The couple's lawyers argued that because Joseph suffers from cystic fibrosis, a rare hereditary disease, he has a significantly shortened life expectancy. The defence argued for leniency of 5 years since there was no evidence he knew of the abuse. The prosecution countered this by declaring that he should have known about the abuse given the extent of the injuries and, while there is no evidence of his having been involved directly in the abuse, he is at the very least guilty of standing idly by.
According to FOX 5, Joseph's father begged the judge for a minimum sentence and to have his son put on suicide watch.
Jennifer’s lawyer argued that she was a law student with no known priors, however, the prosecution countered that the severity of the toddler’s injuries needed to be heavily considered in sentencing.
The jury in the case was reportedly sequestered on July 31 after one juror had to be replaced for talking with an Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter.
Reports say that the defence requested a mistrial claiming that the extensive media coverage was intrusive.
"Despite the court's order, the media has repeatedly and flagrantly violated Rule 22 that was not showing the juror's faces, that it was not filming during breaks."
However, the request was denied by the judge and, with the sequestration in place, the jurors left the courthouse for their hotel rooms guarded by deputies.
In the end, the judge gave Joseph Rosenbaum a 50-year sentence (serving 30 with the remainder to be spent on probation) while his wife received life in prison plus an additional 40 years.
The couple and several other people inside the courtroom were reportedly seen visibly crying while the verdict was read out.
The couple's lawyers and the prosecution spokespersons were all unavailable for comment.