Prosecutors are turning up the heat against Jennifer Rosenbaum, the Henry County woman charged with killing her 2-year-old foster child. They have added several charges against her, even as they have reduced the severity of charges against her husband.
Three months before the trial, prosecutors re-indicted the couple Thursday. The new charges signal a shift in the prosecution to focus the harshest murder accusations against Jennifer Rosenbaum.
Her husband, Joseph Rosenbaum, is no longer charged with malice and felony murder in the death of 2-year-old Laila Marie Daniel, as he was in the initial indictment. He is charged with murder in the second degree because, prosecutors say, he left the child in his wife's care after he knew she was abusing the girl.
Jennifer Rosenbaum is still charged with malice and felony murder, and both face multiple charges of child cruelty, aggravated assault and aggravated battery.
The revised charges mark the latest turn in a case that has slogged its way through the justice system. Authorities say little Laila Marie died Nov. 17, 2015, of a blunt-force blow to her abdomen that ruptured her pancreas.
Jennifer Rosenbaum, herself a former foster child, reportedly told her attorney that Laila died after the child began choking on a piece of chicken and Rosenbaum performed the Heimlich maneuver. She and her husband have said they are not guilty.
The case has drawn widespread attention, not only because foster parents are rarely charged with killing a child, but also because Jennifer Rosenbaum was a law student and candidate for county commission.
The case was already moving slowly when the Henry County district attorney recused himself early this year due to a conflict of interest in his office. Jennifer Rosenbaum was an intern in the DA's office when she met Laila. Her interest in becoming the toddler's foster parent was sparked during those encounters.
The prosecution has since been handled by the district attorneys of Cobb and DeKalb counties.
"The case was re-indicted based upon our review of the case file after having been appointed as special prosecutors on the case," they said in an email statement Tuesday. They declined further comment.
Prosecutors escalated the number of charges against couple from seven to 39. The new charges do not so much add accusations as they divide broad charges into more specific ones. For example, a prior charge of cruelty to children asserted the couple inflicted "blunt impact injuries" on the little girl's body. The new charges break that down into individual counts for separate body parts, such as her torso and abdominal area.
Corinne Mull, the couple’s defense attorney, said this latest development is a sign of desperation by the prosecution.
“They are throwing everything at the wall hoping something sticks,” Mull said of the additional charges. “It muddies the water. It makes it easier to get a conviction when they don’t have a case.”
As for the reduced charges against Joseph Rosenbaum, Mull said she believes prosecutors initially charged him with murder to pressure him to turn on his wife.
“They have reduced the charges against Joseph mightily, which shows that they had no case against him all this time,” she said.
The charges assert that the couple abused Laila Marie and her young sister in the later months of 2015.
The new charges lighten the burden on prosecutors in that they need not prove malice and felony murder against Joseph Rosenbaum, said Scott Key, a metro Atlanta criminal defense attorney not involved in the case.
“The state’s theory is that the foster mom struck the fatal blow,” Key said.
He said the sheer number of charges could make it easier to gain a conviction, as the jury will have more to chose from. It also creates a greater burden on the defense to shoot down each charge.
Such legal maneuvers are common, Key said, adding the high number of charges presents a “shock factor” for jurors.”The person appears guiltier,” he said.
Mull, the defense attorney, said, “My clients are not intimidated. I am not intimidated.”
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