Law student charged with murder of foster daughter
01/19/2016 11:28 am PST
UPDATE August 1, 2019:
Jennifer and Joseph Rosenbaum were found guilty of murdering 2-year-old foster daughter Laila Marie Daniel, WGCL-TV reports.
Jennifer Rosenbaum was sentenced to life plus 40 years in prison, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Joseph Rosenbaum was sentenced to 30 years in prison and 20 years' probation upon release.
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January 19, 2016:
A 2-year-old was systematically beaten to death, allegedly by the very people who were supposed to protect her.
Laila Marie Daniel, 2, and her 4-year-old sister are in foster care, wards of the state of Georgia.
Jennifer Rosenbaum, 27, took the children in to provide a loving home. But one night Laila choked on her food.
In a frantic 13-minute phone call to 911, Rosenbaum reports the toddler is choking.
The 911 dispatcher coaches Rosenbaum through CPR. Rosenbaum is worried she might hurt Laila in the process.
Rosenbaum said Laila choked on a piece of chicken. Rosenbaum claims she used her fingers, and then a butter knife, to try to clear Laila's airway.
But Laila died soon after.
Atlanta affiliate WGCL obtained a 10-page report filed by the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services that reveals horrifying details about the real cause of Laila's death.
The autopsy "did not reveal the child choked." That report goes on to say the 2-year-old was killed when Jennifer Rosenbaum struck "the child in the abdomen with such force the child's pancreas was transected. ... The child was believed to enter shock due to blood loss resulting from the injury."
At the time of death, Laila had "severe bruising on her back, face, legs and abdomen and breaks of her arms and legs," and the child had also been starved.
Laila's biological family is devastated.
Who would take a child in under the guise of providing a safe home and instead beat her to death?
Rosenbaum's resume had a glossy veneer. She was a law student, an intern for the district attorney, and was planning to run for a seat on a county commission.
Rosenbaum had the qualifications to indicate she'd provide a safe haven to foster little Laila and her 4-year-old sister.
But now a very different picture emerges.
Jennifer Rosenbaum is charged with murder, and her husband, Joseph Rosenbaum, a correctional officer, is charged with cruelty to children. They both pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The couple's attorney says they did nothing wrong.
Investigators say Laila's 4-year old sister may also have been beaten by the couple. So why didn't Family Services raise a red flag during home visits?
Court documents say the beatings went on for months, and that report also says the couple never turned in the correct paperwork, and only went through an abbreviated screening process to qualify.
A state investigator told WGCL the foster mother's status in society may have blinded the case workers from suspecting her of child abuse.
"We also had indication from very responsible, well-placed people in the community that Mrs. Rosenbaum would be a good placement for the children," said Bobby Cagle, director of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.
A police report says Rosenbaum positioned herself as a person who "had overcome childhood trauma and was well respected in the community."
WGCL reports Laila's biological mother, Tessa, and Jennifer Rosenbaum grew up together in the same foster home. Did Jennifer Rosenbaum have an ax to grind with Laila's mother?
Laila's grandmother thinks the fact that the Rosenbaums took Laila into their home was no accident.
Now a friend wonders if Rosenbaum could have used her position at the D.A.'s office to access inside information to hand-pick Laila to be her foster child.
And what about the case worker who dropped the ball in reporting signs of abuse?
"The case worker and the supervisor failed to act in ways that I would have found reasonable, and in doing so my confidence was not there that they would be able to do the work going forward, so we did make the decision to terminate both," said Cagle.
Family Services reveals the children entered the state system because their parents were "incarcerated due to domestic violence, substance abuse and inadequate supervision."
Jennifer Rosenbaum is charged with murder, aggravated assault and cruelty to children. Her husband Joseph Rosenbaum is charged with cruelty to children. Jennifer and Joseph Rosenbaum were released on bond and placed under house arrest.
Jennifer Rosenbaum's attorney has said that Laila's injuries may have been caused by former foster parents, saying in part: "It happens more than we know in foster parent circles because you don't know the history of foster children you're given."
