Kojo Odo, Head of Special Adoptions for Ohio, Makes the Caring Life Credible : Adoptive Father Has Room in Heart and Home for 35 Unwanted Kids

June 26, 1988|SHARON COHEN | Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio — He's a bachelor who long ago traded the solitary life for 15 loads of wash every day, a four-figure grocery bill every month and enough sons and daughters to fill a classroom--35 in all.

METRO DATELINES; Charges Are Severed In the Steinberg Trial

LEAD: Drug and weapon charges were ordered severed yesterday from the trial of Joel B. Steinberg, who is accused of second-degree murder in the death of Lisa Steinberg, the 6-year-old girl he and his companion, Hedda Nussbaum, illegally adopted.

Drug and weapon charges were ordered severed yesterday from the trial of Joel B. Steinberg, who is accused of second-degree murder in the death of Lisa Steinberg, the 6-year-old girl he and his companion, Hedda Nussbaum, illegally adopted.

Bail Request Of Steinberg Is Rejected

By RONALD SULLIVAN

LEAD: Joel B. Steinberg was denied bail yesterday by Acting Justice Harold J. Rothwax on the grounds that the ''defendant probably is guilty, probably will be found guilty and therefore probably will be sentenced to life imprisonment'' for the death of 6-year-old Lisa Steinberg.

St. Petersburg Times
Author: MARK JOURNEY

CLEARWATER - A 50-year-old white woman was convicted Saturday of allowing her black foster child to die because touching the infant gave her ''the willies.''

An all-white, six-member jury deliberated about an hour before convicting Judith Lundy of manslaughter and third-degree murder in the July 1985 death of 4-month-old Corey Greer.

St. Petersburg Times
Author: MARK JOURNEY

CLEARWATER - Breaking her three-year silence in the case, the foster mother charged in the death of 4-month-old Corey Greer testified Friday that she properly fed and bathed the baby, even though she was overwhelmed with 12 other children.

Judith Lundy, 50, said Corey had a severe rash, urinated a lot and was sometimes difficult to feed. But she said she never saw any indication that the child was gravely ill, although doctors have testified that Corey's sunken eyes and listlessness should have alerted her.

STEINBERG IS PORTRAYED AS AN ADDICT

By RONALD SULLIVAN

LEAD: Joel Steinberg, the lawyer accused of beating to death the 6-year-old girl he illegally adopted, was portrayed in court documents released yesterday as a violent cocaine addict who conspired to manufacture a pharmaceutical form of the drug and who would blackmail clients for it.

Philadelphia Daily News

Neighbors of Colleen Chavez said there was nothing about the pregnant Phillipsburg, N.J., woman that would have indicated she was capable of child abuse and murder.

But yesterday first-degree murder was added to the charges against Chavez in the death Wednesday of a 2-year-old foster child in her care.Beryl Blake, who lives next door to the family, said Chavez occasionally came to her house to play with her baby granddaughter.

"She loved babies," Blake said. "She was a nice woman, nice and friendly."

The Record

A pregnant 24-year-old Phillipsburg woman has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly beating her 2-year-old foster daughter to death earlier this week, prosecutors said Thursday.

Colleen Chavez of 218 Filmore St., who is three months pregnant, was originally charged with aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

The murder charge was added Wednesday night after Gladys Campbell was pronounced dead at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, according to a release from Warren County Prosecutor Richard C. Hare.

St. Petersburg Times
Author: MARK JOURNEY

CLEARWATER - Four-month-old Corey Greer had sunken shadowy eyes and several other physical signs that should have alerted his foster mother that he was gravely ill before his death three years ago, several doctors testified Thursday.

''In my opinion, a caretaker would know that urgent medical treatment was necessary,'' Dr. J.M. Whitworth, a University of Florida professor and expert on child abuse, testified in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court. ''You could look at the baby and say, 'This is not a normal baby.'''

St. Petersburg Times
Author: MARK JOURNEY

CLEARWATER - Shannon Patrick was only 8 years old, but she knew something was wrong with the baby. Just weeks earlier he was happy and alert, she said. Then, he became lifeless ''like a blanket. When you drop it, there he lay.''

Shannon, now 11, testified Wednesday in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court that she warned former foster mother Judith Lundy that the child appeared ill the night before he died.

Judge Approves Release of Facts In Beating Case

By RONALD SULLIVAN

LEAD: The disclosure of damaging evidence against Joel B. Steinberg at a bail hearing would not deprive him of a fair trial on charges that he murdered 6-year-old Lisa Steinberg, a New York judge ruled yesterday.

The disclosure of damaging evidence against Joel B. Steinberg at a bail hearing would not deprive him of a fair trial on charges that he murdered 6-year-old Lisa Steinberg, a New York judge ruled yesterday.

Philadelphia Daily News

A Phillipsburg, N.J., woman is to be charged today with murder in the beating death of her 2-year-old foster child, who died last night at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

The foster mother, Colleen Chavez, 24, will be charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and endangering the welfare of a minor, said Warren County prosecutor Richard Hare.The child was placed in the Phillipsburg home by Children's Home of Easton, a Northampton County foster care agency under contract with the Philadelphia Department of Human Services.

St. Petersburg Times
Author: MARK JOURNEY

CLEARWATER - Judith Arlene Lundy sat expressionless, her hands folded in front of her on a courtroom table.

After almost three years of legal maneuvering and delays, attorneys picked six jurors and two alternates Tuesday who will decide whether the former foster mother is guilty of third-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with the death of 4-month-old Corey Greer.

Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Author: Inga Saffron, Inquirer Staff Writer

Motherhood didn't come easy for Joanne Nichols. The process took more than two years, required a trip to the overcrowded slums of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and nearly exhausted her savings.

Headliners; In Court

LEAD: Dr. Peter J. Sarosi, who two years ago helped arrange the adoption of a newborn boy by a New York City couple later charged with being murderously abusive parents, last week pleaded guilty to violating state adoption laws.

Dr. Peter J. Sarosi, who two years ago helped arrange the adoption of a newborn boy by a New York City couple later charged with being murderously abusive parents, last week pleaded guilty to violating state adoption laws.