After five days of deliberations and the removal of one jury member, a Georgia jury returned a verdict in the case toddler girl, Laila Brown, who died in 2015. The girl’s foster parents have been on trial for weeks, facing 49 charges, ranging from abuse, neglect, to first-degree murder.
Foster parents Jennifer and Joseph Rosenbaum, who claimed 2-year-old Laila died after choking on chicken, have both been found guilty of murder. In a Henry County courtroom on Thursday, the pair, who faced trial together, appeared as if they were sobbing as the jury read the verdict, according to AJC.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, an autopsy revealed Laila had broken bones and internal injuries, including a separated pancreas. While the prosecution argued that the toddler’s injuries were consistent with physical abuse, the defense claimed Laila choked on a chicken nugget and could have gotten the injuries when Jennifer Rosenbaum tried to revive her.
Dr. Kris Sperry took the stand for the defense last week and explained why he thought the injuries could have been accidental.
Rosenbaum previously said she tried to perform CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver when Laila began choking but didn’t do things correctly, which resulted in internal injuries.
“My conclusion was that all these injuries were sustained during a very, very panicked frenzied attempt to try to save Laila’s life after she appears to have choked on some chicken,” Dr. Sperry testified. “She (Jennifer Rosenbaum) was doing anything she could to try to dislodge this chicken and save the girls life and along the way inadvertently caused injuries to Laila’s body.”
During the week prior, however, Dr. Stephen Messner with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta took the stand and testified that Laila’s injuries were consistent with physical abuse. According to Messner, Laila had loop-shaped bruising on her body that appeared as if she had been hit with a belt or cord.
She also had marks consistent with being punched by someone’s fist, the doctor said, as well as severe blood loss and signs of inadequate nutrition.
Further, Messner testified that Laila had burns across her stomach that appeared to be healing, and bruises on her head, armpits, inner thigh, and genitals. One of her ears had half of the skin missing, but it didn’t happen accidentally, Messner said
Laila’s older sister Millie also lived with the defendants. She, too, showed physical injuries consistent with being abused. Millie, 4 at the time, was removed from the home after Laila’s death and currently lives with new foster parents.
Mille, now 7, took the stand last month and testified that Jennifer Rosenbaum hit her with hands or with a belt, AJC reports.
Millie said she once got a spanking for not getting dressed fast enough and another time for falling asleep in the car. The little girl said her foster mom sometimes made them take their clothes off before hitting them.
The prosecution pointed out to Sperry last Thursday that “no medical professional has seen injuries like this from resuscitation.” Prosecutors also argued that the little girl had injuries prior to the alleged choking incident.
Sperry acknowledged that Laila’s broken rib appeared “suspicious” and that the child’s arm fracture had been there “for a very long time.”
“The right eight rib of the back appeared to have a healing fracture. Fractures at this location in a young child are suspicious,” he said.
However, Sperry maintained that many of the injuries could have happened while the defendant attempted to help a choking child.
“Mrs. Rosenbaum was trying to pound on the child’s back to dislodge the chicken stuck in the child’s airway. She left these bruises behind. “
Red Flags
A 2016 investigative report by AJC indicated that the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) didn’t follow up on previous red flags in the case, which likely could have saved Laila’s life.
On July 24, 2015, Laila moved in with the Rosenbaum couple after her birth mother was arrested for drug use. DFCS ran criminal background checks on the pair and evaluated their home before determining they were a good fit.
“The Rosenbaums are stable and reliable. They also appear to greatly love children,” a note in the child’s DCF file read.
By October 2015, however, problems began to surface when Laila broke her leg. Jennifer Rosenbaum, who was once a foster child herself, claimed it happened accidentally at gymnastics. A caseworker visited Laila, and after she determined that the toddler was doing OK, didn’t investigate further.
“She is doing fine by her attitude you would never know anything was wrong,” Rosenbaum said in a text message to the social worker. “Laughing playing singing and hasn’t cried once not even when it happened.”
Less than a month later, on November 17, Laila died.
Murder Charges
In December 2015, the suspects were arrested for child cruelty and murder.
Jennifer Rosenaum’s arrest warrant read that she kicked Laila “with such force the child’s pancreas was transected. The child was believed to enter shock due to the blood loss resulting from the injury.”
After the child’s death, DFCS looked further into the supposed gymnastics incident. Staff at the gymnastics center said that Laila was never a member there. Millie was enrolled, but Laila was a spectator only and always sat on the side, watching her sister.
Jennifer Rosenbaum was facing numerous charges, including malice and felony murder, child cruelty, assault, and battery. She was found guilty of felony murder and a number of other charges, including aggravated assault and cruelty to children. She was found not guilty of malice murder
Joseph Rosenbaum was facing second-degree murder and related charges for leaving the child in his co-defendant’s care while allegedly knowing she abused the child. He was found guilty of several charges, which included second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and cruelty to children.
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[Feature Photo: Laila Daniel/ Family Handout]
