Couple Charged in Baby's Death

On Thursday, April 23rd 2009, 11-month-old Anany Nitay Sanchez of Newburgh, New York died. An autopsy revealed that she died of "blunt force trauma to her liver".

On Friday police arrested Christian F. Lujan, 29, on a charge of second-degree manslaughter for recklessly causing the death of the baby. Lujan is not the baby's father. His bail was set at $250,000. Judge Peter Kulkin said he wouldn’t base the bail amount on any speculation of future charges although, “the facts may very well result in a higher charge.”

On Monday police also arrested Desiree Miranda, 20, the baby's mother, on charges she assaulted her baby daughter in October 2008, six months before the little girl’s death. Her bail was set at $50,000.

On Tuesday they both appeared in court in an investigation that involved the City of Newburgh Police, Orange County Child Abuse Task Force, the State Police and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Desiree Miranda had taken her daughter, little Anany Nitay Sanchez, to St. Luke's Hospital on Thursday evening because her baby had been sick for a couple of days and was having trouble breathing. While being examined at the hospital, the staff noticed that the baby had prior injuries that were still healing.

The hospital called the police and the baby was transferred to Westchester Medical Center, where she underwent an emergency operation. The doctors were not able to save Anany's life. An autopsy the following day revealed that blunt force trauma to Anany’s liver killed her.

While in court on Tuesday, Desiree Miranda appeared on the verge of collapse. Her attorney, Doug Jones, said there was no proof she’d done anything wrong in October and she had taken the baby to see the doctor several times since then. She most recently saw a doctor in March when the baby was spitting blood. The doctor attributed it to a cold or infection. According to Jones, Anany went home with her mother after each visit.

City Judge Peter Kulkin noted Miranda’s inconsolable condition Tuesday but said she “didn’t seem to have a care in the world” when he arraigned her Monday, before she knew she would be incarcerated. He set her bail at $50,000.

The baby's father, 20-year-old Armando Sanchez, is serving time in prison on drug-related charges. He was incarcerated before his daughter was born. He is due to be released in November.

His brother, Wilfredo Sanchez, said Armando was told about his daughter in prison and he was hysterical when they told him. Anany would have been a year old on Sunday.

“He never held her,” Wilfredo said. “He never kissed her. He never saw her.”

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Godinez Gets 5 Years

Edson Godinez, 17, of the city of Newburgh, NY went before Orange County Court Judge Robert Freehill to be sentenced for assaulting police officer, Richard Hammer on Feb. 16, 2008. He had been charged with 3 felonies: Two counts of second-degree assault and a single count of attempted aggravated assault on a police officer. He also faced misdemeanor charges of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and resisting arrest.

It all began about 1:45 a.m. on Feb. 16th on Mill Street, Newburgh when police officer Richard Hammer saw a gang of at least twelve Hispanic males chasing another unidentified 23-year-old Hispanic male. They caught up with the fleeing man and began a vicious assault. That was when officer Hammer attempted to intervene. While trying to arrest the two ringleaders who led the attack, he was also assaulted by 5 or 6 others in the gang. During the altercation Hammer was stabbed by one of the two men (Godinez) he was trying to arrest. The other one and the rest of the gang escaped. The fight was believed to have stemmed from a dispute between two street gangs in Newburgh, the Barrio Benkard Kings (BBKs) and La Eme. In his defense Godinez claimed he didn’t know that a police officer was the one who was trying to break up the brawl.

In court Godinez pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted aggravated assault on a police office. The prosecution recommended 9 years in prison but Godinez' lawyer, Gary Abramson of the Orange County Legal Aid Society, argued for a lesser sentence.The maximum sentence was 15 years. In the end Judge Robert Freehill sentenced Godinez to five years in state prison. The judge also denied Godinez youthful offender treatment, which would have sealed his record. Godinez apologized for his actions in a barely audible voice, wiping his eyes as he spoke.