Boy in Abuse Case Will Remain With Mother
Boy in Abuse Case Will Remain With Mother
By KIRK JOHNSON
LEAD: Travis Christian Smigiel, the 17-month-old boy formerly known as Mitchell Steinberg, was placed in the permanent custody of his mother yesterday by a judge in Manhattan.
Travis Christian Smigiel, the 17-month-old boy formerly known as Mitchell Steinberg, was placed in the permanent custody of his mother yesterday by a judge in Manhattan.
''Travis, we can only wish you a good life,'' Judge Jeffry H. Gallet said after announcing his ruling at a hearing at the Family Court building in lower Manhattan.
The boy was found on Nov. 2 by New York City Emergency Medical Services workers called to the Greenwich Village home of Joel B. Steinberg and Hedda Nussbaum, who had telephoned the 911 emegergency number about another child, 6-year-old Lisa, who was not breathing.
Lisa, whose given name was Elizabeth, died three days later of head injuries. Mr. Steinberg, a 46-year-old attorney, was subsequently indicted on murder and manslaughter charges and has pleaded not guilty. Miss Nussbaum, a 45-year-old former children's book editor and author, has been charged by the police with the same crimes but not indicted.
Neither Mr. Steinberg nor Miss Nussbaum contested the final custody order, although Mr. Steinberg, who was at the hearing, asked the judge at one point to let him speak directly to Miss Nussbaum, with whom he lived for 17 years, to make sure that her wishes in the case had been accurately expressed to the court. Judge Gallet said he had no authority to grant the request, and Mr. Steinberg then dropped his objections to the final custody order.
Travis, who was found tied to a chair in a bedroom of the Greenwich Village apartment, was given temporarily to his mother, Nicole Bridget Smigiel, who is 18 years old, last week, and will be raised at Miss Smigiel's parents' home in Massapequa Park, L.I. Yesterday, the family also said that Travis's father, Mark Urban, who is 21 and who learned only two weeks ago that he had a son, had been given visitation rights and would also participate in the child's upbringing.
Neither Lisa nor Travis were formally adopted by Mr. Steinberg and Miss Nussbaum, according to court records.
Officials at the Manhattan District Attorney's office said yesterday they had established a special hot line number for information about any other similar adoption cases in which Mr. Steinberg - or any of the people involved in the placement of Lisa and Travis - may have been involved. The number is (212) 233-7730.
The attorney for the Smigiels, Anthony V. Barbiero, also said his law office had received three calls in the last week from women who identified themselves as mothers who had been involved with ''one or more'' of the people involved in Travis's adoption. He declined to provide specifics.