Home --> AJ's Story --> AJ's Story: Quotes From The Book A.J.'s Story -- Quotes From The Book “I believe Jessica probably
did throw up, but the cause wasn’t remorse – it was the
combination of committing murder with her bare hands on a belly full
of beer, and then having half of the PBSO pouring through her house
on a Sunday morning when she’s usually sleeping it off.”
– Scott Cupp “Although this child
– at least by the parents’ history – had exhibited
in the past unruly behavior, possibly aggressive behavior, the circumstances
of this case strongly suggest that this child’s death is the result
of physical child abuse with the terminal mechanism of death being submersion
or drowning. “I think Andrew will
be in reasonable shape as long as he has Mrs. Idrissi as a mother figure
in school. I will try to call a conference on Andrew in June to decide
whether or not he should remain with Jessica and David. They probably
won’t change and he will have to go to a foster home. I guess
Jessica just doesn’t like him. She tolerates him, and his father
just doesn’t care. No one cares but Mrs. Idrissi and me.”
– Dr. Zimmern “They [David and Jessica]
believe Andrew is irrevocably flawed because of his early years with
his biological mother. They feel that little can be done to change this.
Jessica’s father has stated to her, ‘His eyes are dead –
he has no soul.’ I urged them to believe that Andrew is an emotionally
disturbed child who can be helped – even cured – through
therapy and love and security.” – Dr. Zimmern “Andrew needs to know
that you care, and that you believe in him. Try not to always outsize
him. Find things that he can be praised for – he needs to feel
good about himself. When Andrew’s eyes go dead, he is withdrawing
from the world because he finds it all just too painful. His self-esteem
is now so low – try to build it up any way you can. Andrew is
a difficult person to live with because his past life was so bad. His
present habits are ones he developed to cope with life as it was. When
his life improves, he will shed those habits because they will no longer
be necessary.” – Dr. Zimmern “Andrew is afraid he
will be sent away to a foster home which he does not want. I believe
he willfully disobeys and forgets his chores, homework and jobs. It
must be his way of fighting back, his way of being noticed, his way
of asserting himself, his way of bolstering his self-esteem.”
– Dr. Zimmern “In many ways, Andrew’s
home is his prison.” – Dr. Zimmern “Jessica sees Andrew
as a four-year-old emotionally who she cannot control. Andrew frustrates
her – makes her angry. Jessica’s method of handling this
anger is a head-on ‘in-your-face,’ abrasive, verbal counter
attack with threats, which totally undermine Andrew’s security.
He panics inside, another failure, which further undermines his fragile
self-esteem. He fights back by disobedience and forgetfulness –
the usual ploy of helpless creatures.” – Dr. Zimmern “God was unkind to Andrew.
He gave him Ilene Logan and her lovers, followed by David and Jessica
Schwarz. No one can hurt him anymore. In the end, we all failed him.
I should have saved him; now I must live with my failure.” –
Dr. Zimmern CUPP: “You don’t
even know the day he died.” “It has been determined
by the grand jury, based on the evidence presented, that HRS is not
performing adequately to meet the public’s expectations to protect
the general welfare of children. “Management of the records
was inadequate….” “Andrew J. Schwarz’s
files had enough information in them to strongly suggest removing him
from the home. There appeared to be an overwhelming drive by HRS to
keep Andrew J. Schwarz with his natural father even when the Child Protection
Team, staff meetings, and other documented information showed this was
not in his best interest.” – Grand Jury regarding HRS “When various departments
pass requests back and forth to each other, there should be a structured
follow-up. The various action items resulting from staffing meetings
should be tracked to closure. This includes action items passed on to
other departments and counties in South Florida. Independent verification
and day-to-day supervision should ensure personnel are taking on their
assigned accountabilities. CASES SHOULD NOT BE PREMATURELY CLOSED BEFORE
ALL DEPARTMENTS HAVE COMPLETED THEIR ASSIGNED TASKS. “I owe it to every kid
who has ever been afraid to close his eyes at night or who has ever
had to crawl beneath the tightening grip of weak men and women who would
cause them harm. I owe it to every parent who would rather die for their
kids than inflict the physical or mental scars of wicked words and degrading
gestures – of closed fists and closed minds. I owe it to the public
at large because they are demanding accountability for AJ’s death.
I owe it to my family and friends. And I owe it to AJ. May this trial
earn him a grain of peace.” – Scott Cupp “Mrs. Idrissi will tell
you that that meeting left an indelible impression on her. “Andrew said nothing.
His little eyes never left the floor. He was humiliated.” –
Mary Idrissi “So when a teacher sees
this off-task behavior going on, she shortens her lesson and checks
them constantly. So if we were running spelling words six times each,
I would have Andrew write them three times and let him come to my desk
and let me see what he’d done well. This was the manner in my
classroom. Andrew came to my desk; he would show me his words. I gave
him many, many loves, hugs and squeezes, and he responded to that and
he completed his work. He was a very bright boy.” – Mary
Idrissi “… The children
don’t go just once down to the holiday shop; they can go several
times. If they keep bringing money in, they are permitted to go. Well,
the two weeks was coming toward an end. Andrew had not been –
as yet – and so I gave him two dollars to go down. And I told
him that he could go and purchase anything he wanted for himself –
didn’t have to be a gift for home. Just with two dollars, you
can buy a lot of nice little things. And what he bought was all for
me. It was nothing for himself and I always treasured that – this
was characteristic of Andrew.” – Mary Idrissi “’Mrs. I., I love
you taking things away. It really brings the point home that no one
is kidding as far as him being late. He had twenty-five minutes to get
to school, so him being late – it took him fifty minutes to get
to school? No way. And he’s grounded for the weekend and if he
is late again, well, let’s just say he’s going to cry a
lot. He had 3 ½, 4 hours last night and he still didn’t
finish his homework. Like being late, he just doesn’t care and
does what he wants. I look forward to him doing his handwriting over.
I’ve tried. He hasn’t done one thing about it. Boy, this
is really working out and I’m sorry I didn’t get along with
you sooner. Sorry. Thanks. Oh, yes, we’ve gotten to the point
with AJ, since he keeps doing the same things wrong over and over –
we’re talking years – he gets no breaks, no rewards when
he knows better. He loves to play games with people’s heads. He’s
never gotten one over on me; dared his dad once or twice – me,
never – and I won’t let that change. Beware of lies. Today
he left the house at seven-thirty. Unless he’s bleeding, no reason
on earth he should be late – none.’” – Mary
Idrissi, reading a letter that Jessica Schwarz wrote to her. “…In January,
I called Child Protection Services, but when I felt that they didn’t
do anything, I didn’t call anymore. I felt nothing was being done
and I had done my part.” – Anne Steinhauer “A guardian ad litem
is a volunteer who is appointed by judges in various courts to aid and
assist any child who is going through the legal process.” –
Dr. Zimmern’s definition of a guardian ad litem “The overwhelming thing
I remember about Richard was his kindness – his humanity. Easily
loved. When he broke down on the stand – briefly – I wanted
to leave the courtroom. It was horrible! I wanted to scream. He loved
AJ.” – Scott Cupp “’Andrew must
be treated again with imipramine, as suggested by Dr. Uttley, and HRS
continue supervising this family, the court review this case in six
months, the guardian ad litem continue to monitor this case.’”
– Dr. Zimmern “I certainly thought
that the child needed to be removed from that home. It was my opinion
that the child was a targeted child, he was being abused, and that the
best thing we could do to protect him was to get him out of there. BROWN: “What are you
looking for when you visit with a child?”
“Anger, disgust, utter
frustration. If ever [in my opinion] one person in that inept agency
personified their overall incompetence, it was her – only she
was incompetence with attitude.” – Scott Cupp, describing
HRS worker Sandra Warren “I may not be able to
clearly define evil for you – not as a black-and-white statement
lifted from the pages of a dictionary – but I can say without
equivocation that I know it when I see it, and Jessica Schwarz will
forever personify it in my eyes.” – Scott Cupp “’Okay,’
I told myself, ‘so you may not be able to call his name or reach
out to him [in the dream] – but you can make sure his voice is
heard.” – Scott Cupp CUPP: “You were taught
right from wrong?” CUPP: “So, Mrs. Idrissi
– who has thirty children to educate – has the audacity
to single your child out and spoil him, right? That’s what she
was doing?” CUPP: “You didn’t
laugh at him in front of (Candace Ahern) and call him ‘shit for
brains?’” “This boy couldn’t
tell anybody anything. He had nowhere to run – nowhere to go.
His whole life was a living hell.” – Joseph Marx “I had a recurring thought
and it was this: That in today’s society we’ve come to accept
violence as a way of life. We just accept that’s the way it is. “Emotional abuse is
just as deliberate as physical abuse. “…And if you remember
Dr. Rahaim’s testimony, what he was stating is that therapy –
family therapy – individual therapy – is not a cure-all.
There are times when what you need to do is take the kid out of the
home.” – Scott Cupp “How do Mr. Marx and
I show you bruises? This case isn’t about bruises. You’re
not going to hear one charge that AJ was beaten. His psyche was battered,
bruised – ripped to shreds. How do I come in here and show you
a picture of this kid’s soul? How do I show you a picture of his
spirit? “This is about that!” – Scott Cupp as he pointed to Jessica Citing the same abuses perpetrated
on AJ: “I would be lying if
I didn’t admit my personal satisfaction in Judge Martin allowing
me to make Benz stand and demonstrate how that nameless, faceless police
detective yelled at him during the meeting.” – Scott Cupp After Judge Martin found Jessica
guilty of murder, Scott Cupp laid his head on the table. Later, he told
reporters: “Maybe now, AJ has some peace.” “Do them (Jessica’s
daughters) a favor and put her in jail and keep her there as long as
possible. Protect these children from her.” – Joseph Marx “One can only imagine
what the infraction of the rules might have been that so aroused Jessica’s
anger and rage that she could beat a child nearly to death with her
bare hands and fists. And then hold the slender ten-year-old boy’s
head underwater until he stopped struggling for his very life.”
– Carol Rothgeb “As sad and demeaning
as AJ’s life was – he struggled to survive.” –
Carol Rothgeb “And what if AJ had
been removed from Jessica and David’s house and placed in a loving
foster home and received the help – and hugs – he so desperately
needed? What if just one more neighbor would have called the authorities?
So many ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys….’”
– Carol Rothgeb “I always found it curious
that in the aftermath of the convictions and sentences – amid
all the many words written and spoken about AJ, Jessica, and HRS, the
state agency responsible for his care at the time of his murder –
no one other than myself speculated about what AJ would have been like
had he survived to become a young man. No one.” – Scott
Cupp “Child abuse is just
too painful a subject. Yes, it is. It’s the kind of pain that
creeps into your dreams. It’s the kind of pain that makes you
weak. It’s the kind of pain we in America persist in refusing
to deal with.” – Scott Cupp “Maybe what AJ touches
in us are thoughts that, for reasons largely unknown to us, we are ashamed
of.” – Scott Cupp “The child protective
system in Florida, as I suspect is the case in most states, has been
broken for decades. Children are being murdered and sexually and physically
abused, and this, too, has been so for decades. Nothing is changing.”
– Scott Cupp “The law’s overemphasis
on the biological link between parent and child should more easily give
way when it is clearly established that parents have abused their children.
This will, in the long run, strengthen the concept of family. The law
must begin sincerely to apply to ‘the best interest of the child’
standard.” – Scott Cupp “When children are finally
removed from the people who have harmed them, why are they placed within
a system that too often has been shown not able to do much better? The
foster care system is broken. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Newspaper
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