Also in that paper:
By ANDREA PEYSERFri Jan 13, 6:00 AM ET
"She shared with me." WHEN she came to school, which wasn't all that often, little Nixzmary Brown was sad and she was hungry.
At home, she was systematically starved by her parents, beaten, tied up and sexually tormented - abuse she took pains to hide.
What she could not conceal, those in cushy positions simply chose not to see.
Though she had next to nothing, Nixzmary was the kind of girl who gave away what little she had.
"She was my best friend," Mya Thomas told me yesterday. The doe-eyed 7-year-old stood under the careful watch of her mother outside PS 256, terrified to go inside.
Why did you love her so much? she was asked.
The child did not hesitate.
"Because she shared with me," said Mya. "When I didn't have any snacks, she shared hers with me."
So the child who was starving gave her precious pretzels to a child who was merely hungry.
Mya brushed away a tear.
I had to hide my own.
Little Nixzmary came to school sad and she came to school hungry. That is, when she came. Mya never knew why.
"She never said anyone hurt her," Mya whispered.
It was the first time poor little adorable Mya had ever even considered the possibility that someone could hurt a child. Just saying the words caused obvious pain to her.
These are things her mom, Lizette Sepulveda, would rather her baby did not have to know, not yet. But lately, the mom has been forced to explain why children die. So will parents across the city.
Mya looked at the yard, where she played with her pal. Little Nixzmary, so malnourished that she weighed only 36 pounds, was still a child - she was graceful and fast.
"She played tag. She played ball. She jumped rope with me," said Mya.
Double Dutch.
But in the two years they sat together in class, Nixzmary never once went to Mya's house for a play date, nor did Mya visit her apartment. And that was strange.
Instead, Mya watched as Nixzmary seemed to slip away before her eyes. She grew thinner. She grew distant. Then, she stopped coming to school. The alarm bells were ringing to a 7-year-old girl. But adult ears were deaf to them.
For shame.
Yesterday, the children of Bed-Stuy feared coming to school. Last May, 11-year-old Queen Washington, another student at PS 256, was killed by a 9-year-old pal as the pair fought over a rubber ball. Now this.
"My daughter was crying this morning. She was afraid!" said Nicole Powell, whose 7-year-old, Michelle, was in Miss Colonna's class with Nixzmary.
"Why didn't the school call?" Powell demanded. "When Michelle acted up, I got a call.
"It's ridiculous! They haven't seen the girl in a month, and they don't call?" she exclaimed, disgustedly.
Other parents and the Department of Education noted that the school did, in fact, call.
Nixzmary is dead. And her parents are to blame.
And yet, there is plenty of blame and shame to go around.
Now, every child in Bed-Stuy is suffering. And it is left to their parents to tell them why grown-ups kill.
And to pray it never happens to them.
I read that article and couldn't get to the end without crying. It's heartbreaking.Poor little sweetheart. Apparently she had asked her abuela to take her back to PR . If only...but this sad story is so full of if only's.
She told the authorities that she fell down the stairs and the doctors felt the injuries were consistent with a fall.
Many heads should roll but the school is not among them.