Woman, 37, to stay jailed in battering death case

Kaitlin Gurney

The Philadelphia Inquirer

A 37-year-old Franklin Township woman accused of the fatal battering of the 5-year-old boy she adopted from Russia in October will remain in jail pending a psychiatric evaluation, a state Superior Court judge ruled yesterday.

Judge Anne McDonnell refused to reduce Heather G. Lindorff's $1 million bail or allow her to have contact with her five other adopted children because there is "some concern for the safety of herself and others," she said.

Jacob Lindorff's death Dec. 14 was caused by blunt head trauma, and his body was covered in bruises, said Gloucester County Assistant Prosecutor Mary Pyffer. He also had second-degree burns on his feet from a few weeks before his death, Pyffer said.

Lindorff was arrested Tuesday and charged with killing Jacob less than two months after she and her husband brought the boy, his twin brother, and a 7-year-old biological brother from Russia to their rural home in the Blue Bell section of Franklin Township. She has also been charged with aggravated assault, child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.

Her husband, James E. Lindorff, 52, has been charged with fourth-degree child abuse and was released Tuesday on $25,000 bail. When his wife spotted him in court yesterday, she smiled broadly and mouthed "I love you" to him.

The couple's attorney, Stephen Patrick of Newfield, argued that the boy's injuries were likely sustained in Russia, rather than after he arrived in the United States on Oct. 30. Before being placed in a shelter in Russia, the boys had been found locked in a house where they had spent days with their dead mother, Patrick said.

"One of the things the Russians don't like to do is reveal that too much is wrong with the kids," Patrick said, contending that if the Russian adoption agency had explained the boys' true condition, the Lindorffs likely would not have adopted them.

The county medical examiner's report indicates that the injuries found on the boy's body were two to four weeks old, which would mean they occurred while he was in the Lindorffs' care, Pyffer said.

McDonnell also requested that the couple's five remaining adopted children also receive medical and psychiatric evaluations.

"No doubt these children came to this country with high hopes that they had finally found a family," McDonnell said. "This case cries out for evaluation by mental health professionals."

McDonnell scheduled another bail hearing for Friday.

The children are now living with Heather Lindorff's family, Patrick reported, but are examined regularly by officials from the state's Division of Youth and Family Services.

The couple's three daughters, ages 18, 11 and 9, are all biological sisters and were adopted from Russia about two years ago, he said.

Contact Kaitlin Gurney at 856-779-3910 or kgurney@phillynews.com.