How Could You? Hall of Shame -Zoraida Figueroa-Norse UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Watertown, New York, after a mistrial was declared on September13, 2011 due to an insufficient number of potential jurors showing up , 35-year-old foster mother Zoraida Figueroa-Norse is finally “on trial for allegedly severely beating her 8-year-old foster daughter on June 26, 2010, but her attorneys contend that it was her brother, Darren L. Moore, who inflicted the injuries.

The child was injured at Mr. Moore’s home at 17575 County Route 63 in the town of Hounsfield. Ms. Figueroa-Norse was staying at the residence while she moved her mother from a Mannsville residence to Vermont, where Ms. Figueroa-Norse also lives.”

“The child suffered head trauma that caused bleeding and swelling on her brain, as well as bruised internal organs in her abdominal area. Dr. Robert Kanter, who has worked in the pediatric intensive care unit at Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, since 1980, testified Tuesday that the injuries were caused by an “exceedingly violent traumatic event.” He said absent any other explanation, such as the child had been involved in a serious accident, he had to reason the injuries were the result of child abuse.

“Among all of the cases I’ve seen in 31 years, this was one of the severest combinations of traumatic and life-threatening injuries I’ve seen,” Dr. Kanter said. “This was certainly life-threatening. This was a very severe brain injury.”

The child spent more than a month in coma and nearly a year in a rehabilitation center, a case worker with the Vermont Department for Children and Families testified Wednesday. The child still has long- and short-term memory impairment, trouble walking and recently had a synthetic plate placed in her head to replace portions of her skull removed to relieve the brain swelling.

Mr. Moore claims that Ms. Figueroa-Norse was trying to discipline the child, who has behavioral problems, by making her wash dishes. He said at one point, Ms. Figueroa-Norse and the child became involved in “a pretty serious incident” at the kitchen sink, with Ms. Figueroa-Norse striking the child several times in the head and the child fighting back. During the exchange, the child hit her chin on the kitchen sink and had a bloody nose, he said. ”

“After the incident, the child ran from the house to the edge of the road. Ms. Figueroa-Norse retrieved her and carried her back to the house, with Mr. Moore holding the door for her. Ms. Figueroa-Norse then allegedly took the child to the basement for a “time-out.” When she emerged, she called out to Moore that she was returning to her mother’s and to leave the child in the basement. After a period, he went to check on the child and found her unresponsive, according to his testimony.

“Honestly, I thought she was sleeping,” Mr. Moore said.

He carried her upstairs to a bed and called Ms. Figueroa-Norse to tell her “Rachel wasn’t moving,” but claims he was told “she was faking it.” He said the child had scratches on her face, but no bruising and, because his sister was on her way back, he did not seek medical attention.

“Zoraida comes back and says, “Where’s Rachel?” Mr. Moore said. “She looks at Rachel and tells her to quit faking it. Then she grabs Rachel, and realizes, and starts freaking out.”

He said before his sister took the child to Samaritan Medical Center, Ms. Figueroa-Norse told him that if anyone asked, he was to tell them that she had dropped the child onto her head on concrete as she carried her back into the house earlier, even though Mr. Moore said he never saw the child being dropped. That became the version he gave to police in two statements and to a grand jury investigating the matter.”

“He said he never gave prosecutors an accurate account of the events until about a month ago, after realizing that Ms. Figueroa-Norse was not going to assist him in Family Court in regaining custody of his son. In the aftermath of the injuries to Rachel, the Department of Social Services had removed Mr. Moore’s child, citing his failure to protect Ms. Figueroa-Norse’s child.

“She felt horrible, she cried and said she was going to go to court with us and tell them we didn’t have anything to do with this,” Mr. Moore said.

Instead, he claims, his sister did not appear in court and began to suggest that he was responsible for the child’s injuries.

“Her attorney told her it was her word against mine,” he said.

Ms. Figueroa-Norse’s attorney, David P. Antonucci, Watertown, attempted to impugn Mr. Moore’s reputation, asking questions about a criminal record that includes arrests for a domestic violence incident and a sale of cocaine. Mr. Antonucci questioned why Mr. Moore had given false statements to police and also told police, “My sister would never hit that kid.”

“Why did you lie? Why did you perjure yourself?” Mr. Antonucci said.

Mr. Moore said he gave the false statements because he still believed his sister was going to help him in his custody battle. Mr. Moore regained custody of his son earlier this month.

“Do you have any reason to come forward today at this trial and accuse your sister if this wasn’t true?” Assistant District Attorney Aaron D. Carr said.

“No,” Mr. Moore said.

Testimony in the trial is scheduled to enter its fourth day today.”

Adams Center man testifies his sister, not him, severely beat foster child
[Watertown Daily Times 10/27/11 by Brian Kelly]

“Jefferson County sheriff’s detectives investigated the alleged beating of an 8-year-old as a possible murder, according to testimony Thursday in Jefferson County Court.

Detective Paige C. Taylor testified at the trial of Zoraida Y. Figueroa-Norse that, based on the prognosis of the child’s condition, “we were unsure” if the child would survive.”

“Detective Taylor, who was a deputy at the time of the incident, testified that she interviewed Ms. Figueroa-Norse for about 10 hours at Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, where the child had been transferred from Samaritan Medical Center. She said the interview eventually was reduced to a 20-page handwritten statement in which Ms. Figueroa-Norse said the injuries had occurred during a fall while she was carrying the child.”

““She said that Rachel had flopped backwards from her arms and she had dropped her in the driveway,” Detective Taylor said.

A doctor who treated the child at the Syracuse hospital earlier testified that the injuries could not have occurred from a fall from such a height. He said the injuries were more consistent with a fall from at least a second-story window. The child suffered bleeding on her brain and internal organ damage in her abdomen. She spent a month in a coma and nearly a year in a physical rehabilitation center and has not fully recovered from the injuries.”

“The prosecution is expected to rest this morning, with defense witnesses called in the afternoon.”
Detectives investigated foster child’s alleged beating in Adams Center as possible murder
[Watertown Daily Times 10/28/11 by Brian Kelly]

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” A state budget mandate may have contributed to a mistrial being declared Monday in Jefferson County Court.

There were not enough potential jurors deemed qualified to sit for the trial of Zoraida Y. Figueroa-Norse, a Vermont woman who faces a second-degree assault charge for allegedly seriously injuring her 8-year-old foster child in June 2010, prompting Judge Kim H. Martusewicz to declare the mistrial.

Veteran court employees said typically when the matter to be tried is serious, about 100 potential jurors are brought in for screening in an attempt to whittle the pool to 12 jurors and one or two alternates. But the state Office of Court Administration has ordered that smaller pools be called to save money after the office’s budget was cut by $70 million this year. For Monday’s trial, 62 jurors were called, but only 49 showed up. Six jurors were dismissed for legitimate personal reasons, leaving a pool of 43 people.

Before a jury is selected, prosecutors and defense attorneys question potential jurors and, along with the judge, have the right to strike any from the pool if they deem the juror unfit to serve or believe the person cannot remain unbiased.

Under questioning Monday by Assistant District Attorney Aaron D. Carr and defense attorney David P. Antonucci, several jurors said they would have a problem sitting on the jury because of the sensitive nature of the allegations. Many others admitted they would find a police officer’s or social worker’s testimony more credible than the average person owing to the training those positions entail, raising the possibility that the juror could be prejudiced in favor of the prosecution’s witnesses.

After the first half of the jury pool was questioned, eight jurors were chosen. When only two jurors were deemed qualified to serve from the second half, Judge Martusewicz announced the postponement of the trial as there were no other potential jurors available.

“There was no gamesmanship on anyone’s part,” Mr. Antonucci said. “They were knocked off for cause.”

Mr. Antonucci, who along with attorney J. R. Carter from his office spent weeks preparing Ms. Figueroa-Norse’s defense, and had a witness due to fly in later this week from Puerto Rico. That witness, along with others for the defense, as well as those for the prosecution, will have to be issued new subpoenas to appear when the trial is rescheduled, tentatively set for the last week in October.

“It’s a logistical nightmare for the D.A.’s office, but we’re committed to going forward,” Mr. Carr said.”

Mistrial declared in alleged child assault case
[Watertown Daily Times 9/13/11 by Brian Kelly]

“A Vermont woman accused of seriously injuring her foster child in the town of Hounsfield wants to prevent a 20-page statement she gave to police from being used against her at trial.

Zoraida Y. Figueroa-Norse, 33, Bristol, Vt., was indicted in December on charges of second-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly causing brain and abdominal injuries to an 8-year-old girl whom she planned to adopt.”

“During an evidence suppression hearing Monday in Jefferson County Court, questions were raised about whether Ms. Figueroa-Norse believed she was in police custody when she provided a statement June 26 to sheriff’s Deputy Paige C. Taylor at Upstate Medical University, Syracuse.

Deputy Taylor testified that while she interviewed Ms. Figueroa-Norse for more than five hours, both in a waiting room and in a conference room, Ms. Figueroa-Norse never was told she was not free to leave. The deputy said Ms. Figueroa-Norse was allowed to go to her car and other places within the hospital unescorted.

Under examination by her attorney, J.R. Carter, Watertown, Ms. Figueroa-Norse agreed that she was never told she could not leave nor was she intimidated by Deputy Taylor, but said she complied with the deputy’s questioning out of a respect for law enforcement.

She also claims the deputy made assurances to her that if she completed the interview, the officer would arrange to have Ms. Figueroa-Norse meet with her daughter’s surgeon. When the interview was completed, she testified, she got no response when she asked about the meeting with doctors.

“She just escorted me out of the hospital; there wasn’t really an answer,” she said.

Deputy Taylor testified that “I promised her nothing” and that Ms. Figueroa-Norse was not considered a suspect, or at least the lone suspect, at the time of the interview. She said she interviewed her again June 27 at the Metro-Jefferson Public Safety Building, again voluntarily.

However, Ms. Figueroa-Norse testified that the interview took on a much more interrogatory tone than the one in Syracuse because of the presence of Deputy Taylor’s supervisor, Sgt. Todd L. O’Brien. In the midst of that interview, she asked for an attorney and the questioning ended.

“I believe the sergeant just slammed his hand on the table and said that I had beat (the child),” she said.

In the statement at issue, Ms. Figueroa-Norse made no admission as to causing any of the child’s injuries, according to testimony. Deputy Taylor said Ms. Figueroa-Norse described her foster daughter as a “challenging child” and said she was prone to “self-inflicted” injuries.

It was during an outburst when the child had run from the house and across a road that the child was injured, according to testimony. Ms. Figueroa-Norse told Deputy Taylor that after the child had been caught in a field, the girl was struggling and fell from Ms. Figueroa-Norse’s arms onto a driveway, causing the injuries.

Judge Kim H. Martusewicz reserved decision on whether the statement can be used at trial. Ms. Figueroa-Norse remains free on bail.”
Suspect wants her comments suppressed
[Watertown Daily Times 4/19/11 by Brian Kelly]

She was jailed under $75,000 bail.

Police: Vermont woman beat foster child during Jefferson County visit
[Watertown Daily Times 7/2/10 by Dave Shampine]

Update: “A Jefferson County Court jury will begin deliberations this morning to determine whether a Vermont woman seriously injured her foster child by beating her, or whether her brother committed the act, as her defense attorneys contend.

Zoraida Y. Figueroa-Norse, 34, Bristol, Vt., has been on trial for six days facing a second-degree assault charge for allegedly severely beating her 8-year-old foster child June 26, 2010, while in Jefferson County to move her mother from near Mannsville to Vermont.”

“The injuries occurred at the home of her brother, Darren L. Moore, at 17575 County Route 63, town of Hounsfield. Ms. Figueroa-Norse’s lead attorney, David P. Antonucci, Watertown, has repeatedly fingered Mr. Moore as the abuser and did so again during his closing argument Monday.

That’s his thought pattern: when kids are bad you beat the hell out of them,” Mr. Antonucci said.

Assistant District Attorney Aaron D. Carr said that the expressions about beatings were merely an attempt to minimize what his sister had done and that the contradictory statements he gave police were designed to protect her. He said Mr. Moore was never charged in the investigation and has been promised no immunity from prosecution for his later admissions that he had provided false statements to investigators, but has now provided the one “true” statement in the case.

“He had absolutely no reason to come forward with this information,” Mr. Carr said.

Before closing statements, the jury heard from Mr. Moore’s and Ms. Figueroa-Norse’s mother, Nydia Jack, who was with the pair when the decision was made to take the child to the hospital.

Ms. Jack, who was subpoenaed from her current home in Puerto Rico as a defense witness, testified that she never asked either of her children how the injuries were caused.

“I don’t know what happened to Raychel,” she said.

She contradicted Ms. Figueroa-Norse’s earlier testimony that she and Mr. Moore conspired to blame Ms. Figueroa-Norse for the beating and that the pair had refused to give her a telephone when she wanted to call for emergency help for the child.

“Why would I tear my family apart like that?” Ms. Jack said.

The jury will be given its instructions by Judge Kim H. Martusewicz this morning and then will be given the case for deliberation.”

Jury to begin deliberations in Adams Center foster child abuse case
[Watertown Daily Times 11/1/11 by Brian Kelly]

“A Jefferson County jury has found a Vermont woman guilty in connection to an assault on her foster child. Thirty four year old Zoraida Figueroa-Norse was found guilty on charges of second degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child, concluding a trial that lasted approximately one week. Figueroa-Norse stood accused of assaulting her eight year old Foster child at the home of her brother in the Town of Hounsfield back in 2010. Her lawyer tried to point the finger at the brother, Darren Moore, during the trial. She faces up to seven years in prison when sentenced in January.”

Woman convicted of assault on foster child
[ABC 50 11/2/11]

Update 2: Hat tip to our readers who let us know of the verdict.

“A Vermont woman convicted last year of assault on an eight year old foster girl in her care will spend the next four years in prison.

Zoraida Figueroa-Norse was also sentenced to a concurrent one year sentence on a charge of endangering the welfare of a child.

Upon her release, she will be on probation for three years.

Figueroa-Norse was arrested in June 2010 after the child was hospitalized with serious head and abdominal injuries.”
Woman Sentenced For Assaulting Child
[WWNYTV 1/17/12]

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