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Not guilty plea entered in New Jersey child abuse caseGovernor pledges changes in youth care agency
NEWARK, New Jersey (CNN) -- A public defender entered a not guilty plea Friday in Essex County Superior Court on behalf of the woman charged with child endangerment in a Newark child abuse case, the Essex County prosecutor's office said. Sherry Murphy, 41, waived her right to an appearance in court. She was being held in jail on $250,000 bail, but the bail was revoked because of a probation violation. The case will go to a grand jury and is still under investigation. Murphy faces three counts of second-degree child endangerment. If convicted, she could be sentenced to five to 10 years in jail for each count. She also could face other charges because the death of one child has been ruled a homicide. Murphy is a cousin of the mother of a dead 7-year-old and his two brothers, who were found starving and locked in the basement of a Newark home this week. She was supposed to be looking after the children while the mother, Melissa Williams, was in jail. Murphy was arrested in a Newark apartment after a days-long, nationwide manhunt by police and the FBI. A Haitian immigrant who had sheltered Murphy since the weekend recognized her from television news reports and led authorities to her. While being questioned by detectives Thursday, she complained of illness and was hospitalized, forcing the postponement of her scheduled arraignment, officials said. She was treated but not admitted, and was eventually returned to jail. (Full story) The search for Murphy began Saturday after Newark police were called to a home on a report that two boys were found locked in a basement. The boys had been starved, beaten and burned. After being taken from the scene, one of the boys told police he had a twin brother. Police returned to the basement and found the boy's body in a container. New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey announced changes in his state's Youth and Family Services Department on Friday, which was supposed to have been overseeing the children's care. "In the entirety of my life in public service, nothing I have encountered has personally shaken me as much as this tragedy," he said. "There is no more fundamental obligation of a government than to protect those who cannot protect themselves: namely, our children. The failure of government in this instance to safeguard the health and welfare of these children is beyond excuse, it is sickening," McGreevey said. He outlined systemic changes in the division, including updating the bureau's computer system -- which was installed in 1980 -- and instituting better training and caseload management systems for employees. McGreevey said the workers who oversaw the case of the three siblings -- and who eventually closed it despite allegations of abuse and neglect -- would be held accountable. "We will require and we will demand personal accountability at every level throughout the division to address the immediate problems, and we must recommit ourselves to the larger effort of securing the necessity of these reforms over the long term," the governor said.
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