Elizabeth "Lisa" Launders
Steinberg
May 14, 1981 - November 4,
1987
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In New York City,
on May 14, 1981 a baby girl was born by the name of Elizabeth Lisa Launders.
By November of the year 1987, the entire would come to know her as "Lisa
Steinberg".
Following her birth, Lisa's
mother paid Joel Steinberg $500. to find an adoptive home for her.
A home was never found and although he never adopted Lisa himself, she
did live with Joel and his live in girlfriend, for the rest of what would
be her very short, sad life. |
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On November 1, 1987, Joel
Steinberg delivered several blows to Lisa's head and then he and Hedda
Nussbaum waited over 12 hours to call for help. Lisa did not die that day,
she died three days later from severe brain injuries. He left the house
and Hedda called no one thinking that he could help Lisa by laying his
hands on her, when he returned.
When Hedda later found Lisa
was no longer breathing, Joel STILL didn't want to call for help,
but eventually did. Lisa was in a coma for three days before she
died.
Lisa is pictured above with
her baby brother who was found in a back room, laying on the floor, tied
to his crib with a short length of rope, dressed in filthy clothing.
Lisa's birth mother, who was
still Lisa's LEGAL guardian at the time since she had never been
adopted by Joel and Hedda, was given legal rights to Lisa's estate and
later sued. Joel Steinberg was convicted of first- degree manslaughter
in 1989. Hedda had been abused by Joel for years and was beaten by him
just before he delivered the blows that killed Lisa, therefore, she was
not able to help Lisa. Hedda was not prosecuted since she had been found
unable to help Lisa and was not involved in her abuse other than not reporting
it.
Hedda has been involved in
a campaign to stop Joel from ever being paroled and his next parole hearing
is set for January of 2004. Joel has been up for parole several times and
has each time been denied. To this day he refuses to accept responsibility
for he did to Lisa Launders.
Child welfare workers, Police
officers and even a teacher who had seen the evidence of abuse on Lisa's
body, failed to report this or do anything about it. So we have another
case of a child who could have been saved if someone had only been willing
to help her.
Hedda has moved on, writing
a book and staying as far away from
Joel as she possibly can.
Update:
In October of 2007, Joel petitioned the court to
throw out a lawsuit that had been filed by Michelle Launders, Lisa's biological
mother. Joel was ordered to pay $15 million dollars in damages for what
he did to Lisa. Joel's reasoning behind this was that Lisa had only
been through, at the most, eight hours of pain and suffering. What kind
of moster thinks it okay to toture and murder a child, as long as he doesn't
cause her to suffer for more than eight hours?
Wanting to avoid the media, Joel submitted his request
in writing rather than appear in person. He sighted the quality of the
legal briefs he had written and the fact that medical reports showed that
Lisa didn't have any really serious injures, as reasons he thought he had
a good chance of getting the judgement thrown out. Joel even had a plan
for if he loses:
"I'll continue to labor and live in
poverty. I'll have my
salary garnished at 10%. But maybe I'll go
to
another court"
Wayne Schaefer, who is the lawyer for Michelle said
the following:
"It's obvious, even at this late point, that
Joel Steinberg
still is not taking any responsibility"
In January of 2007, an Appellate Division panel
said that Joel was as
devoid of empathy and human emotion now, as he
was the night he had killed Lisa. They ruled the judgement would stay.
However, because two of the five judges thought he should not have to pay
for past abuse of Lisa, he was able to take his case to Albany.
Update:
Joel Steinberg was released
from prison June 30, 2004, after being behind bars for ONLY 15 years.
Update:
After having been denied parole
in 1996, twice in 2000 and once 2002, once again Joel Steinberg was denied
parole on January 15, 2004. The three member panel that interviewed Joel
Said:
"We find quite compelling
your inexplicable disregard for your victim,
that little girl, that
evening,"
I personally wish he would
NEVER
get out, however, his release date is set for June after he serves only
two thirds of his sentence. A television company, who will
NEVER
be named on my site, has offered him a job based on the fact that he has
been in prison. Isn't it wonderful, he kills a little girl, goes to prison,
and when he gets out, he will have a television show which is his because
he has been to prison. I find this to be repulsive!
UPDATE: October 2, 2004
After receiving so many requests
for the name of the television station which will employ this murderer,
I have decided to put it up:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-06-15-steinberg-usat_x.htm
From prison to cable TV
During the years that he was
inmate No. 89A2941, Steinberg was disciplined a handful of times for such
infractions as violating a smoking policy and refusing a direct order,
says Linda Foglia, spokeswoman for New York's State Department of Correctional
Services. He studied drafting and handicrafts and was a porter in the gym,
she said. And since May 1991, the disbarred attorney has been assigned
to the prison's law library, where he is a paralegal assistant.
After he's released, Steinberg
will earn $250 a week as an intern for New York Confidential, a tabloid-style
cable show that has the infamous report on the scandalous. "We're interested
in a lot of different people, scandalous people ... who can do stories
and have a totally different view on everything," show spokesman James
Edstrom says. "There's no guarantee that he will work out. He'll start
as an intern, and if he can handle it, he may end up being a reporter along
with other people."
Edstrom says the program is
also interested in getting Bernhard Goetz on the show. Goetz became a symbol
of vigilantism in 1984, after he shot four young men he thought were going
to rob him on a New York subway. Goetz was sentenced to a year in jail
for possessing an unlicensed gun.
At least part of Steinberg's
wages may go to pay for his crime. Launders, Lisa's biological mother,
was awarded $15 million in damages in September 2003 from a civil lawsuit
she originally filed against Steinberg, Nussbaum and various city agencies.
The city settled without admitting any wrong doing in 1999 and paid $985,000.
"The last information we
had was he was going to work as some kind of a TV journalist," says Schaefer,
Launders' lawyer. "We'll be monitoring that situation, and to the effect
we can take garnishment, we, of course, will."
For information about preventing
child abuse in the state of New York, click the links below. If they can't
help you, ask for someone who can. NEVER give up looking for
help for an abused child!
The
Child Abuse Prevention Center of New York
New
York Office Of Children And Family Services
Call this number to report
child abuse ANY WHERE in the United States!
1-800-4-A-Child
1-800-422-4453
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