ERIN MAXWELL - 11 yo (2008) - Palermo NY

A 28-year-old central New York man was convicted Thursday of using a
rope to strangle his 11-year-old stepsister, who authorities say was
starved by her parents and lived in a home filled with animal feces and
rotting garbage.Alan Jones of Palermo was found guilty of
second-degree murder after the Oswego County Court jury of 12 men
deliberated about 12 hours over two days.Jones' defense attorney
had argued that Erin Maxwell accidentally hanged herself while acting
out a scene from the "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" movie
in her bedroom on Aug. 29, 2008.Prosecutors argued that Jones strangled Maxwell.Jones faces 25 years to life in prison when he's sentenced Nov. 6.State
police and rescue workers said they found more than 100 cats in the
Maxwells' home at the time of Erin's death. Troopers also found the
carcasses of several kittens in the freezer.Authorities said
Erin was routinely locked in her room at night and spent hours alone.
She had no playmates and often went to school in clothes reeking of cat
urine. Teachers and other school officials told investigators that she
had been seen taking food from garbage cans and eating it or putting it
in her desk.Maxwell's parents have been convicted in town court
of multiple child endangerment charges. Lindsey and Lynn Maxwell face
up to two years in prison when they are sentenced Oct. 12, but they
have said they plan to appeal.During closing arguments
Wednesday, defense lawyer Salvatore Lanza criticized the medical
examiner who performed Erin Maxwell's autopsy, saying she issued a
ruling without knowing all the facts. He also questioned the
thoroughness of the state police investigation and noted that none of
Jones' DNA was on the rope or on Maxwell.District Attorney
Donald Dodd called Jones' story of finding Maxwell hanging from a screw
in her room "not worthy of belief." The prosecutor said an unbelievable
series of events would have had to occur for her to have hanged herself
the way Jones explained it. Dodd also said Jones' statements to police
were inconsistent.The district attorney prosecuted Jones under
the theory he acted with depraved indifference by recklessly tightening
a rope around Maxwell's neck, causing her death. That means the jury
did not have to find that he intentionally killed Maxwell but that he
acted with such disregard to her life that he was guilty of murder.

Erin Maxwell's autopsy says she died of asphyxiation, and sexual
trauma was " a significant condition contributing to her death, but not
related to her cause." That was one year ago.

When the trial of her stepbrother, Alan Jones, opened Tuesday,
Oswego County District Attorney Donald Dodd agreed he would not raise
the sexual trauma issue as part of his case.
That has left people following the high-profile case wondering: why?



Was it for a lack of evidence that Dodd declined to consider at
trial whether Jones sexually molested the 11-year-old girl? Or was it
legal strategy? Or was it a combination of both?
Defense attorney Salvatore Lanza said Dodd didn't pursue
sex-related charges against Jones when the prosecutor first presented
the case to a grand jury. That, Lanza said, led him to believe Dodd
doesn't have enough proof to convict Jones of molesting Maxwell before
she died Aug. 30, 2008.
Medical personnel found Maxwell unconscious in her Palermo home the
day before she died. Last month, her father and stepmother, Lindsey and
Lynn Maxwell, were convicted of four misdemeanor counts of endangering
the welfare of a child. Jones, who lived with the parents and his
stepsister, is charged with second-degree murder and faces up to 25
years to life if he is convicted.
Dodd said he can't talk about the case because of a judge's order, nor can he reveal information about grand jury proceedings.
But some lawyers say it's difficult to convict someone being tried on murder charges of also sexually abusing the victim.
It's even more difficult if there is no DNA evidence linking the defendant to the sex crime, the lawyers said.
"Without a victim, without an admission (of guilt) from the
defendant or some other way to connect the defendant to the crime,
these cases are very difficult to prove," Cayuga County District
Attorney Jon Budelmann said.
Generally, prosecutors need a victim's statement, physical evidence
such as DNA, an eyewitness's corroborating account or a confession to
gain a conviction in criminal cases, the lawyers said.
"The problem with murder cases is that you don't have a victim to testify," Budelmann said.
Defense lawyer Dennis Sedor, of Auburn, said it's possible that
Dodd believes it's his best strategy to seek only a murder conviction
against Jones -- especially if there isn't sufficient proof to show
Jones molested his stepsister.
Trying to prove a second crime without solid evidence could end up confusing the jury and backfiring, Sedor said.
"You don't want to create a trial within a trial ... . That could
create problems the prosecutor might not want to deal with," said
Sedor, a former assistant district attorney in Cayuga County.
Cortland County District Attorney Mark Suben declined to discuss
the Jones trial, but said he believes juries ascribe too much weight to
DNA evidence. Earlier this year, Suben won a murder conviction largely
based on circumstantial evidence.
Too many people are influenced by police drama TV shows such as "CSI" and "Law and Order," Suben said.
"DNA evidence can be valuable, but it's not as necessary as people
think. The real danger is the expectations of it from people watching
these TV shows. It raises the burden of proof (prosecutors) have to
meet that are beyond the standards set by law. So it's a blessing and
it's a curse," Suben said.
"I think Mark makes a good point," Auburn lawyer Sedor said. "You
need expert witnesses to present evidence and explain how good or bad
or how faulty (the evidence) could be.
"It's a strategy," he said. "(Dodd's) in the best position to do
that. He knows what he does have and what he doesn't have. He's doing
what he feels is putting his best foot forward."

The father and stepmother of Erin Maxwell will find out tonight how
much time they will have to spend in jail for making Erin live in
deplorable conditions in their Palermo home.
Lindsey and Lynn Maxwell were found guilty by a Palermo Town Court jury in August of
four counts each of endangering the welfare of a child, all
misdemeanors. They will be sentenced by Town Justice Robert Wood today
at 7 p.m. in Palermo Town Court.
They could receive two years in the Oswego County jail.
Erin was 11 when she died Aug. 30, 2008 at University Hospital. She had been found unresponsive in her bedroom the day before.
When authorities responded to the house on Route 264, they found
more than 70 cats, cat feces all over the rug, garbage piling on a
porch and dead kittens in the freezer. Witnesses testified during the
Maxwells trial that Erin often was locked in her room at night.
Her stepbrother, Alan Jones, was taking her her dinner of
SpaghettiOs and a cut-up hot dog on Aug. 29, 2008, when he said he
found Erin hanging from a screw on the wall. Jones, 28, was charged
with Erin’s murder and was found guilty last month. He is due to be sentenced in Oswego County Court Nov. 6.
Defense lawyer Salvatore Lanza, who represented the Maxwells and Jones in their trials, is appealing all three convictions.

The
Erin Maxwell case led to additional hiring of child protective
caseworkers in the Oswego County Department of Social Services. A study
compiled by Cornell University finds the county’s child protective
services woefully understaffed and, in many cases, ill-trained. Each
caseworker handles an average of 139 cases per year — nearly double the
national and state standard of 72 cases. The reports led to
reorganization of the department and a plan to hire 31 caseworkers and
supervisors to supplement the staff of 45.
The department was harshly criticized from a wide array of sources
for failing to help Erin. An October 2008 report by the county shows
social services workers investigated the Maxwell home on three
occasions but did not remove Erin. Social services officials vowed to
change department procedures and to improve communications with area
schools.

Legislation inspired by the Oswego County murder case of Erin Maxwell
will be introduced in the U.S. Senate. The legislation aims to create a
federal program to assist cities in hiring more social service workers
for child protection.

Senator Chuck Schumer is going to announce
the legislation at 12:45 on Monday at Peace INC’s West Side office
located at 200 Wyoming Avenue.

Schumer’s office says the
legislation will work to help smaller communities get the resources
they need to hire social service workers to protect children from abuse
and neglect. They also say the legislation was directly inspired by
11-year old Erin Maxwell’s 2008 murder in her Palermo home. Maxwell
remained in that home despite previous indications that the situation
there was dangerous.

On September 24, Alan Jones, Maxwell's stepbrother, was found guilty of murder
by a jury after 2 days of deliberations. The district attorney made his
case that Jones put a rope around Erin's neck and strangled her.

Schumer
says more resources need to be provided to prevent social workers being
overwhelmed by the volume of cases that require their attention.

Erin Maxwell's father, stepmother released from jail
Published: Monday, January 24, 2011, 11:16 AM

Oswego, NY -- Lynn and Lindsey Maxwell have been released today from the Oswego County jail after serving their time for endangering the welfare of his daughter, Erin.
The two were the father and stepmother of Erin Maxwell, who was 11 when she died after being found unresponsive in the family home in August 2008.

One year later, after a trial that focused on Erin’s deplorable living conditions, the couple was convicted on four counts each of endangering the welfare of a child.

Their lawyer, Salvatore Lanza, of Fulton, said Monday he has "no idea" where the Maxwells are staying. "They are living somewhere in Central New York, but they want their privacy now."
Lanza also said the Maxwells' appeal of their convictions still is in the works and he hopes to file paperwork in the appeal in February or March. He said the court stenographer moved to Florida and a new assistant district attorney was assigned to the case so the appeal has taken longer than expected.
"I wish appeals could be filed quicker," Lanza said Monday.
Lanza said the point of the appeal is to remove the convictions from the Maxwells' records.
"They've done their time and they got time off for good behavior," Lanza said. "You won't see them in any trouble again."
Authorities investigating the Erin Maxwell case back in 2008 reported the young girl lived in squalor.

When they talked to relatives and school officials, they learned of a girl locked in her room in the evening, one who went to school hungry, wearing clothes that reeked of cat urine.

When they reviewed county social services records, they learned social workers had investigated the family three separate times following complaints of how the girl was treated. But the workers found no reason to remove her from the home.
Following their Aug. 8, 2009 conviction, Palermo Town Justice Robert Wood sentenced them to two years in the Oswego County Correctional Facility.

Erin’s stepbrother and Lynn’s son, Alan Jones, was convicted of murdering Erin.
He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison and is serving the time in Clinton Correctional Facility in Clinton County in northern New York.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/erin_maxwell_father_stepmother.html