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The Child Abuse Case that Made International Headlines
The death of Lisa Steinberg was New York City’s first televised murder trial.
If you are a Law & Order fanatic like me, you may remember a 1990 episode entitled “Indifference.” The episode begins with a teacher’s discovery of a nearly unconscious young girl in her classroom, whose body shows obvious signs of abuse. When the detectives investigate the wealthy and well-educated parents, they are both — as the episode’s title suggests — shockingly indifferent towards their daughter’s condition and their other child's welfare.
The young girl eventually dies from her injuries. But that’s just the beginning of this strange tale. As the story unfolds, the detectives discover the depths of the family’s dysfunction. The father regularly beats his wife and children, and he also forces his wife to take cocaine and beat their children as well. The mother’s twisted love for her husband borders on obsession.
Years of abuse combined with excessive drug use has made her, as one detective puts it, “nuts.” For example, she sincerely believes her husband possesses healing powers. In another scene, when the detectives arrest her, she whimpers to her husband in a baby voice, “Pookie’s scared. Pookie doesn’t want to go to jail.”
