N.J. Couple Plead Not Guilty to Cruelty

N.J. Couple Plead Not Guilty to Cruelty
Wed Feb 11, 3:09 PM ETSKY, Associated Press Writer ELIZABETH
N.J. - A couple pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges they made
their 13-year-old foster daughter take meals to an elderly relative
who lay dead in an upstairs bedroom.
Neither Kenneth nor Donna Keaveney spoke during a brief hearing in
Superior Court. They remain free pending a March 25 hearing.
Afterward, the couple's lawyers told reporters that the situation was
not as bizarre as it was made out to be by prosecutors.
The man who died, Donna Keaveney's 82-year-old father, Nicola
Lombardi, lived in a self-contained apartment within the house and had
his own bathroom and kitchen, said her lawyer, Thomas S. Plaia. He did
not necessarily have daily contact with the other adults in the
household, Plaia said.
"Here's the misconception about the case: that grandpa was dead for
three weeks and everybody knew. That's not the case," Plaia said.
Neither Plaia nor Kenneth Keaveney's lawyer, Randy Davenport, would
answer questions about what the 13-year-old might have known about the
older man's condition.
The Keaveneys were charged last week with child cruelty and elder
neglect following a five-month investigation.
Police were called to the house in August and an autopsy determined
that Lombardi had been dead for several weeks in the room where
authorities said the girl went every day with food for him.
The 13-year-old, another foster daughter, age 4, and an adopted
daughter, age 11, were removed from the house by the state Division of
Youth and Family Services.
Plaia said Donna Keaveney had a loving relationship with her father
and was shocked and saddened to learn of his death.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp.../foster_girl_1
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