Thread: Morris NJ. Illegal Alien mom accused of killing 4-year-old

Morris NJ. Illegal Alien mom accused of killing 4-year-old to undergo psychiatric evaluation. Now NJ Taxpayers will have to foot the bill for her trial, incarceration or psychiatric rehabilitation and probably the ride home.


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.


Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger
Jenny Lizette Erazo-Rodriguez appears today in Superior Court in Morristown for her first appearance and bail hearing. The mother is charged with the murder of her 4-year-old daughter and the attempted murder of her 6-year-old daughter.

"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-Ledger
Juan 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.

PS: Our Liberal NJ Media is a pathetic joke....thanks

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/0 ... lling.html

Death penalty!!!