MARY GONZALEZ - 4 yo -(2009) Morris NJ

A Morris Township mother was charged with killing her 4-year-old
daughter and injuring her 6-year-old daughter Sunday, authorities said.
Police arrested Jenny Lizette Erazo-Rodriguez after a 911 call
reported an emergency on Highland Avenue around 10:15 a.m., said Capt.
Jeffrey Paul, spokesman for Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi.Arriving officers found an unconscious 4-year-old girl lying on a
front lawn, where a neighbor was administering C.P.R., Paul said.
Another neighbor was caring for the 4-year-old's older sister, who was conscious but lethargic, Paul said.
Both children and their mother were taken to Morristown Memorial
Hospital, where the 4-year-old was pronounced dead at 11:06 a.m., Paul
said.
Authorities would not say how the child was killed.
Her sister is currently being treated for non-life threatening
injuries, Paul said. Authorities would not reveal why the mother was
taken to the hospital or if she sustained any injuries.
Erazo-Rodriguez, 33, was charged with murder, attempted murder and
endangering the welfare of a child. Her bail has been set at $1
million, Paul said.
Stunned neighbors watched as ambulances swarmed their otherwise
quiet and tree-lined neighborhood in the Collinsville section of the
township.
Diana Ritchie, 59, said she was getting ready for a church service
around 10:20 a.m. when she saw a neighbor who lives across the street
carry a little girl in his arms and place her on his front lawn.
Paramedics then performed C.P.R. on the girl, who was later carried to a nearby ambulance by two officers.
"At first I thought the little girl was sick," Ritchie said, "but
then I realized it was much, much worse. It was horrifying. She looked
blue."
The children and their family had moved to the cream colored
one-story home six months ago, residents said, adding there were no
indications of trouble.
Betty Manley-Staley, 61, who lives across the street, said she often
saw Erazo-Rodriguez put one of her daughters on a school bus every
morning.
"They hugged each other goodbye," Manley-Staley said. "She was such a cute little girl."
Marcia Gibson, 57, said one of the injured girls attended Woodland Elementary School with her granddaughter.
"They seemed like they were a happy family," Gibson said. "They were
new to the neighborhood. It's heartbreaking that this had to happen."
Another resident, Chrystina Simpson, 39, said she heard screams from
Erazo-Rodriguez's home shortly before the ambulances arrived.

Police say a New
Jersey woman killed her four-year-old daughter, attempted to kill her
six-year-old daughter and then tried to kill herself during a brutal
attack Sunday morning.
Morris County prosecutors say 33-year-old Jenny Erazo-Rodriguez faces charges
of murder, attempted murder and endangering the welfare of a child.
Bail is set at $1 million.
Morris Township police responded to the home Sunday and found a neighbor
administering CPR to an unconscious 4-year-old girl on the lawn.
Another neighbor was caring for the girl's 6-year-old sister. Officials say she was conscious, but lethargic.
According to witnesses, the woman's husband was outside doing yard work when the alleged attack took place.
The younger girl was pronounced dead at Morristown Memorial Hospital. The
6-year-old was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Officials have not released the girls' names, a possible motive or said how the
one child died. Investigators carried bags of evidence from the scene
during the day-long prob Sunday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer on the
33-year-old mother who was charged with first degree murder after she
allegedly strangled her 4 year-old daughter Sunday morning.

Jenny Lizette Erazo-Rodriguez is "a person of interest'' to ICE and
the immigration agency placed a detainer on her Monday, spokesman
Harold Ort said. She is originally from Honduras

Detainers are placed on individuals, Ort said, who are, or might be, removable.

After local and state law enforcement agencies have completed their
work, Ort said, "she will come under ICE's custody,'' and then
deportation proceedings could begin.

No timeline has been set yet.

In addition to first-degree murder, Erazo-Rodriguez, who was at her
Highland Avenue home when she was taken under police custody, was also
charged with the attempted murder of her 6-year-old daughter and
endangering the welfare of a child.

Authorities said have said
Erazo-Rodriguez would be kept at the Ann Klein Forensic Center in
Trenton, where mentally unstable defendants are housed. She will not
appear for a bail review until her mental condition is stabilized and
she is ready to be lodged in the Morris County jail.

Police Chief Timothy Quinn this is the first time in about 15 years a murder took place in the township.

The 33-year-old woman accused of strangling her 4-year-old daughter
Sunday morning also attempted to strangle her 6-year-old daughter
before trying to kill herself, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office
said Monday.

Jenny Lizette Erazo-Rodriguez faces first-degree
murder charges in the death of 4-year-old Mary Gonzalez, who died of
suffocation caused by strangulation, Prosecutor Robert Bianchi said.

Police officers arrived at the Highland Avenue house shortly after a
10:15 a.m. call reporting an emergency at the home, Bianchi said.

The first Morris Township police officer at the scene, Patrolman
Christopher Vargas-Vila, wrote in an affidavit that, when he arrived,
Erazo-Rodriguez said, in Spanish, "I killed my girl. I killed my girl,
my baby girl."

According to the Prosecutor's Office, the girls'
father — whose name was not released — returned home shortly after 10
a.m. Sunday after failing to find work for the day as a carpenter. He
began doing yard work around the home, but found it odd that his girls
had not come outside to greet him, Bianchi said at a Monday press
conference.

When he went inside the house, he heard a commotion
and found his daughter, Mary Gonzalez, unconscious. He slung the young
girl over his shoulder and ran to a neighbor's house — a nurse — where
CPR was administered to the girl on the front lawn.

The girl
and her 6-year-old sister, Niurka Gonzalez, who was found conscious but
lethargic inside the house, were taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital.
Mary Gonzalez was pronounced dead at 11:06 a.m., Bianchi said.

Niurka Gonzalez was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and was released to state officials, authorities said.

Niurka Gonzalez told other officers that she awoke Sunday morning and
heard her sister's cries coming from her mother's bedroom. Her mother
ordered the older girl back to her room. Niurka's mother followed her,
then sat on her back and told her not to breathe. She eventually lost
consciousness, according to the affidavit. Because of that incident,
Erazo-Rodriguez was also charged with attempted murder for trying to
strangle her. She suffered minor injuries, authorities said, but is
expected to make a full recovery.

Authorities said
Erazo-Rodriguez tried to kill herself, but would not say how the woman
tried to take her own life. She was first taken to Morristown Memorial
Hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries and is being held in
lieu of $1 million bail. In addition to charges of murder and attempted
murder, she also is charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

The Prosecutor's Office said there is no history of violence at the
home. Authorities declined to discuss whether Erazo-Rodriguez has an
arrest record or a history of mental illness.

Morris County authorities also are working with U.S. immigration authorities to determine the woman's immigration status.

Authorities said the mother would be transferred from Morristown
Memorial to the Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton, where mentally
unstable defendants are kept. She will not appear for a bail review
until her mental condition is stabilized and she is ready to be lodged
in the Morris County jail.

Neighbors were shocked by the news. They said the street, located in the township's Collinsville section, is quiet.

"It saddens me to see someone in that much depression would actually
kill their kid," said longtime resident Rosalind Johnson.

"What
would possess someone to do that," neighbor Marcy Davis said. "What
kind of turmoil could she have been going through? There must have been
a total loss of hope."

Yellow police tape remained around the
sand-colored home. Investigators with Morris Township police, the
Morris County Prosecutor's Office and Morris County Sheriff's Office
returned there Monday to continue the investigation.

Authorities ask anyone with information to call the Morris Township
Police Department at 973-539-0777, the Morris County Prosecutor's
Office at 973-285-6200 or the Sheriff's Office Crime Stoppers Program
at 973-COP-CALL.

The 32-year-old Morris Township mother accused of strangling her
4-year-old daughter and trying to suffocate an older child on Aug. 16
will be brought before a Superior Court judge in Morristown on Thursday
for a review of her $1 million bail. Jenny Lizette Erazo-Rodriguez, who has a history of psychiatric
problems, was transported to the Ann Klein Forensic Hospital in Trenton
after her arrest on charges of murder, attempted murder of her
6-year-old daughter, and endangering the welfare of a child.

As
of today, she has not been released from Ann Klein -- where mentally
unstable defendants are housed -- but a decision was made to bring her
before Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan in Morristown Thursday
afternoon. The purpose of this ''first procedure'' is for the judge to
formally advise Erazo-Rodriguez of her legal rights and the charges
against her, and review whether bail is set at an appropriate amount.

When her mental condition is deemed stable, she would be discharged
from Ann Klein and housed in the Morris County jail. The federal
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has filed a detainer against the
mother because she is suspected of being in the United States illegally
from Honduras.

Morris Township police at 10:15 a.m. on Aug. 16
received an emergency call for help needed at the family's Highland
Avenue home. When an officer arrived, the mother cried out that she had
killed her ''baby.'' The 4-year-old girl, who was pronounced dead at a
hospital less than an hour after the call, was unresponsive on the
front lawn and a neighbor was performing CPR on her. The 6-year-old was
conscious but lethargic and later told a detective her mother tried to
suffocate her by sitting on her back while she lay facedown.

Bail was maintained at $1 million dollars and a mental competency
evaluation ordered today for a 32-year-old woman charged with
suffocating her 4-year-old daughter and attempting to smother an older
daughter at their Morris Township home on Aug. 16.
Mother Jenny Lizzette Erazo Rodriguez was brought before Superior
Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan in Morristown for a bail review and to be
read her legal rights on being charged with murder, attempted murder
and endangering the welfare of a child.

Rodriguez currently is
being housed at the Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton for mentally
unstable defendants. Defense attorney John Paul Velez, a county public
defender, obtained an order from the judge to have Rodriguez evaluated
by a psychiatrist to determine whether she presently is competent.

If deemed competent, Rodriguez will further be tested to see if she was
insane on Aug. 16 when she, allegedly, suffocated daughter Mary
Gonzalez, 4, and tried to smother Niurka Gonzalez, 6.

Rodriguez's husband, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, was in the courtroom and on
his behalf, county Assistant Prosecutor Leslie Wade asked that the
mother have no contact with Gonzalez or her surviving child. Wade also
said that a final deportation order has come through for the mother,
who is in this country illegally from Honduras. Her criminal charges
would first be resolved before deportation would occur.

An
officer who responded to a call for help from the family's Highland
Avenue home saw the mother, who cried to him in Spanish: ''I killed my
girl. I killed my girl. My baby girl.''

The surviving child
told an officer that her mother sat on her back and told her not to
breathe as she lay face-down on the bed.

Morris mom accused of killing 4-year-old daughter to undergo psychiatric evaluation
Published: Thursday, August 27, 2009, 3:24 PM Updated: Thursday, August 27, 2009, 6:32 PM
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/morris_mom_accused_of_killing.html
MORRIS TOWNSHIP -- A Morris Township woman charged in the fatal strangling of her 4-year-old daughter and the attempted smothering of her other daughter was ordered today to undergo a competency evaluation to determine if she is mentally competent to stand trial.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Manahan, sitting in Morristown, also maintained $1 million cash bail for the woman, Jenny Lizette Erazo-Rodriguez, 33, of Morris Township.
"This is as serious a matter as any court can handle," Manahan said.

Authorities say in the morning of Aug. 16, Erazo-Rodriguez choked to death her daughter, Mary, 4, and tried to suffocate her other daughter, Niurka, 6, by sitting on Niurka's back as she lay face down in bed at their Highland Avenue home.

The mother has a history of mental illness and in the past has been hospitalized at a psychiatric hospital, according to a neighbor who babysat for the family.

Entering court today, Erazo-Rodriguez looked nervous as she bit her lower lip. With her hands cuffed at the wrists and shaking, she glanced at her husband, who was seated in attendance in the public gallery, before averting her eyes.
Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerJuan Carlos Gonzalez, left, siits with Victims Wiitness Coordinator for Morris County, Trish Stewart, as his wife, Jenny Lizette Erazo-Rodriguez, appeared in Superior Court in Morristown for her first appearance and bail hearing.

Juan Carlos Gonzalez was wearing a polo shirt emblazoned with the name and logo of his business, Niurka & Mary Carpentry, which is named after the daughters. Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Les Wade said the husband has requested that Erazo-Rodriguez be ordered to have no contact with him or their surviving daughter.

Wade also asked that the $1 million cash bail be maintained. Erazo-Rodriguez, an illegal alien from Honduras, has a deportation detainer filed against her by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Wade said.

"If she makes bail, she would be deported immediately," before her murder case would be resolved, Wade said.

Manahan maintained the bail at $1 million cash-only, and also set conditions of her having no contact with her husband or daughter, or any child under the age of 18.

Her attorney, John Paul Velez, a public defender, asked that she undergo a competency evaluation. Manahan agreed and said the court also received certain information from Ann Klein psychiatrists about her mental state, which he did not disclose.

"Based on that, there should be an evaluation of her fitness to stand trial," Manahan said.

A competency review would diagnose Erazo-Gonzalez's mental condition and determine if she is competent to understand the nature of the court proceedings against her and assist with her own defense. If she is deemed competent for trial, an insanity defense is likely to be pursued, Velez said.

But if she is deemed incompetent, she likely would be civilly committed to a psychiatric institution, and the murder charge would be held in abeyance.

Erazo-Rodriguez remains held in lieu of bail and was transferred back to Ann Klein Forensic Center.

Erazo-Rodriguez has been charged with murder and attempted murder, both first-degree crimes, and second-degree endangering the welfare of Niurka, and her bail was set at $1 million cash.

Last week, she was transferred from the Morris County jail to the Ann Klein Forensic Center, a psychiatric hospital in Trenton, for evaluation.

http://www.nj.com/morristown/index.ssf/2010/01/morris_township_woman_indicted.html

Morris Township woman indicted for alleged strangling of young daughter
Published: Wednesday, January 06, 2010, 2:06 PM Updated: Wednesday, January 06, 2010, 11:20 PM
Jenny Lizette Erazo-Rodriguez, 33, was indicted today on charges of fatally strangling her four-year-old daughter, and of attempting to smother her six-year-old daughter, reports The Star-Ledger:

According to an affidavit, the killing occurred Aug. 16, when Erazo-Rodriguez allegedly choked her daughter Mary to death and tried to suffocate her other daughter, Niurka, by sitting on her back as she lay face down in bed at their Highland Avenue home...The woman suffered from mental illness and in the past had been hospitalized at a psychiatric hospital, a neighbor who baby-sat for the family has said.
Indicted by a grand jury in Morristown, the woman is being held on $1 million bail, and is in a psychiatric facility, the paper reports.

Insanity plea for Morris Township mom expected in child’s murder

Posted: Thursday, April 1, 2010 12:00 am
MORRIS TWP. – -The woman charged with murdering her 4-year-old daughter last August at their Highland Avenue home is expected to plead insanity.

Morris County Deputy Public Defender Dolores Mann entered a plea of innocent on behalf of the woman, defendant Jenny Lizzette Erazo-Rodriguez, last Thursday citing insanity – that her client does not appreciate the nature of her actions nor that they are wrong – in Superior Court, Morristown.

The mother, 33, has been indicted on charges of murdering daughter Mary Gonzalez on Aug. 16; attempting to murder her 6-year-old daughter; endangering the welfare of both girls; possession of a weapon, a sharp object, for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Superior Court Judge Thomas V. Manahan noted that he has psychiatric reports from a doctor treating Erazo-Rodriguez at the Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton.

The report indicated the mother has a history of being treated for psychological disturbances, is currently competent to stand trial but was insane at the time of the murder.

Erazo-Rodriguez was present in court.

She will continue to be housed at Ann Klein, the judge said, because she considered a danger to herself and others.

County Assistant Prosecutor John McNamara Jr. said the state would hire its own mental health expert to evaluate the defendant. The judge said he would review the case again on June 9.

Morris Township police had received a call at 10:15 a.m. on Aug. 16 about an emergency on Highland Avenue. When police arrived, they saw an unconscious child — later identified as Mary Gonzalez — on the lawn with her mother nearby.

The mother allegedly cried out, in Spanish: “I killed my girl. I killed my girl. My baby girl.’’

The 6-year-old told police she awoke the morning of Aug. 16 and heard her sister crying in their mother’s bedroom. When the child checked the room, her mother ordered her back to her bedroom, police had said.

Her mother then, allegedly, got onto the 6-year-old’s bed and tried to smother her as she lay face down on the bed.

The 6 year old was treated and released that day from Morristown Memorial Hospital.
http://newjerseyhills.com/morris_news_bee/news/article_68326d86-b4e2-585a-b703-09d0169c07b3.html

Hospital to jail for mom charged with murder in Morris Township

Posted: Friday, May 7, 2010 12:00 am


MORRIS TWP. - A mother charged with suffocating her 4-year-old daughter on Aug. 16, 2009 at their Highland Avenue home was released April 28 from a psychiatric hospital and is now being held on $1 million bail in the Morris County Jail.

The woman, Jenny Lizzette Erazo-Rodriguez, 33, is also being held on charges she tried to smother an older child.

Erazo-Rodriguez had been sent to the Ann Klein Forensic Center in Trenton immediately following her arrest Aug. 16. The center houses defendants considered mentally unstable and considered a risk to themselves or others..

According to Jail Undersheriff Frank Corrente, Erazo-Rodriguez will likely be kept segregated from other female inmates because of the nature of the charges against her.

Erazo-Rodriguez was indicted by grand jury on charges of murdering Mary Gonzalez, 4, on Aug. 16; attempting to murder her 6-year-old daughter; endangering the welfare of both girls; possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

She also has a detainer filed against her by federal Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) because she is a suspected illegal immigrant.
http://newjerseyhills.com/morris_news_bee/news/article_fd11cf57-fa55-586c-803e-ec8716981654.html