Hundreds including those who didn't know 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown attended her wake Monday at Ortiz Funeral Home.
Nixzmary was found beaten to death in her Bed-Stuy apartment almost a week ago. Her stepfather, Cesar Rodriguez, is accused of binding, beating and molesting her. He is being held without bail on charges of second-degree murder, sex abuse and child endangerment. Nixzmary's mother, Nixzaliz Santiago, is also being held without bail and is charged with second-degree manslaughter and child endangerment. Santiago spoke out from jail and said that she did nothing to stop the abuse because she feared for her own life.
Those who attended the wake say it's so sad that it takes a tragic loss to bring the community out. The incident, along with three other homicide cases in recent months, has sparked concern about the effectiveness of the city's Administration for Children's Services (ACS). Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been critical of Nixzmary?s case saying that the city failed to intervene even though it knew of problems in the home.
Nixzmary will be waked again Tuesday and will be buried on Wednesday.
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