The Prosecution Adds Nussbaum To Witness List
The Prosecution Adds Nussbaum To Witness List
By RONALD SULLIVAN
LEAD: Hedda Nussbaum is expected to be named today as a possible prosecution witness against Joel B. Steinberg in the beating death of Lisa Steinberg, law-enforcement officials said yesterday.
Hedda Nussbaum is expected to be named today as a possible prosecution witness against Joel B. Steinberg in the beating death of Lisa Steinberg, law-enforcement officials said yesterday.
Officials close to the case also reported yesterday that Mr. Steinberg, who is being held without bail on Rikers Island, was considering replacing his lawyer, Ira D. London. Repeated calls to Mr. London's office and residence were not returned.
The judge in the case, Acting Justice Harold J. Rothwax, has barred anyone involved in the case from discussing it with the press.
Jury selection in the trial of Mr. Steinberg on charges of second-degree murder begins today in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. Miss Nussbaum, who prosecutors say was also badly beaten by Mr. Steinberg, will be included in the list of possible witnesses they will submit to Justice Rothwax. Nussbaum as Possible Victim
A major piece of evidence, prosecutors say, is a blood-stained exercise bar found in the Steinberg apartment.
Miss Nussbaum, 46 years old, has also been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Lisa, the 6-year-old girl whom she and Mr. Steinberg, 47, acquired in an unlawful adoption and whom they raised in their Greenwich Village apartment.
Unlike Mr. Steinberg, Miss Nussbaum has never been indicted, and Robert M. Morgenthau, the Manhattan District Attorney, said he was considering dropping the charges against her on the ground that she, too, was a victim.
Responding to an emergency 911 call, the police and an ambulance crew found Lisa comatose in the Steinberg apartment at 14 East 10th Street early on Nov. 2, 1987. She died three days later in St. Vincent's Medical Center from what physicians said was a traumatic blow to the head. Steinberg Disbarred
When he called for an ambulance, Mr. Steinberg said that Lisa had become ill after eating vegetables the night before. He told the police that before calling for help, he and Miss Nussbaum spent the night trying to revive the girl after she choked on vomit.
A second child, Mitchell, who was 18 months old at the time and was found tethered by a nylon rope to a playpen, was taken away and returned to his natural mother.
The arrest of Mr. Steinberg, a criminal lawyer who has since been disbarred, and Miss Nussbaum, a former editor of children's books at Random House, was highly publicized. There were reports of associations with cults and drug abuse, and allegations that both Lisa and Miss Nussbaum were repeatedly beaten for years.
The death of Lisa also triggered investigations of the state's adoption regulations and reports that beatings of both Lisa and Miss Nussbaum were reported to authorities, but were not vigorously pursued. Highly Publicized Charges
For almost a year, Miss Nussbaum has been undergoing reconstructive surgery and psychiatric treatment for the effects of repeated beatings she received, prosecutors say, at the hands of Mr. Steinberg.
Although she was interviewed by John McCusker, the assistant district attorney who will be the lead prosecutor against Mr. Steinberg, her lawyer, Barry Scheck, said yesterday that he did not know whether she will be called as a witness against Mr. Steinberg.
Justice Rothwax said last week that he expects the selection of 12 jurors to take about a month and the trial another three months.
Experts in criminal law and jury selection said Mr. Steinberg faces a difficult task in finding an impartial panel because the charges against him have been highly publicized and involve the beating and murder of a child.
Justice Rothwax denied bail to Mr. Steinberg on June 13. At that time, after reading the minutes of the grand jury that indicted Mr. Steinberg, the judge declared that the defendant ''probably is guilty, probably will be found guilty and therefore probably will be sentenced to life imprisonment.''
He later dismissed Mr. London's contention that his ruling and statement would deny Mr. Steinberg a fair trial.