TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Baby's Parents Hire Top Defense Lawyer

ADVERTISEMENT

Ladale Lloyd And Keith Morelli / The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 27, 1997

TAMPA — Parents of a 5-month-old baby missing since Monday hired a defense attorney after investigators lobbed tough questions at them.

Steve and Marlene Aisenberg hired Tampa lawyer Barry A. Cohen on Wednesday after undergoing a three-hour interrogation by Hillsborough sheriff's investigators Tuesday night, Cohen and a member of his office said.

"I'm sure the investigators have come on a little strong," Cohen said during a news briefing in his downtown office. "But for someone who has done nothing wrong ... that causes a little bit of concern."

He said he does not expect his clients to be charged with a crime.

"I hope there's no reason to charge anybody," Cohen said, explaining they are hoping for the baby's safe return.

Meanwhile, about 100 gathered in the parking lot of a department store on Bloomingdale Avenue south of Brandon Wednesday night to hold a candlelight prayer vigil. As candles flickered in a light breeze, participants sang hymns and prayed for the safe return of Sabrina Paige Aisenberg.

"We are praying for her safety, her welfare," said vigil organizer Terry Kemple. "We are just praying that right now you can touch this life.

"You brought her safely into this world, and kept her safe until now," Kemple said to the hushed crowd. "Bring her back, cradle her, protect her and bring her home safely. Be, to Sabrina, a protective rock of safety."

Most among the crowd didn't know the family, but the disappearance strikes a nerve among young mothers and fathers, many of whom brought their children.

At least one couple knew the Aisenbergs. Frank and Kelly Nolan brought their 9 1/2-month-old son, Jacob.

Jacob attends a day care center that is run by Marlene Aisenberg and Frank works with Steve, he said.

"She is one of the the most caring mothers around," Kelly Nolan said, holding Jacob tightly to her shoulder. "And he just adores his children."

The family reported that sometime between midnight and 6:42 a.m. Monday, Sabrina and her yellow baby blanket were taken from her crib.

The child's mother checked on the baby at midnight and she was fine, said sheriff's spokesman Greg Brown. When she got up in the morning to get her other two children — William, 8, and Monica, 4 — ready, she found her baby missing.

Investigators conducted what they called a routine interview with the parents on Monday and family vehicles were taken in for tests.

On Tuesday night, the couple was taken to a sheriff's office to be interviewed for a second time, said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter. But she declined to say if the parents were given a lie-detector test.

"We don't know why they would hire an attorney, but if they do, we hope they continue to cooperate." Brown said. "Right now, we have no suspects."

Cohen said his clients are cooperating with investigators, but he did not think they had been ruled out as suspects. He also declined to comment on whether they have taken a polygraph test but said they have been questioned several times.

The Aisenbergs, holding hands during the news conference, did not comment. Cohen said he has instructed them not to make any statements.

Steve Aisenberg's brother, David, and his wife, Kathy Guilfoyle, both Boston lawyers, stood nearby, as did Stan Sadowsky, Marlene Aisenberg's father. Sadowsky has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to his granddaughter's return.

"If the person who took Sabrina is listening to this, we would ask that you bring Sabrina back and accept the responsibility and deal with this in the way it needs to be dealt with," Cohen said.

Since Monday, the sheriff's office has searched the family's quiet neighborhood with dogs, while divers were dispatched into area ponds. A third pond was searched Wednesday with no results, Carter said. Wednesday evening, investigators began searching nearby storm water drains and dumpsters.

A sheriff's crime-scene crew searched the Aisenberg home at 36532 Springville Drive and the next-door neighbor's back yard again Wednesday.

The Aisenbergs are Sabrina's biological parents. The family moved into the Brandon subdivision in 1993. They previously lived in Maryland.

Marlene Aisenberg runs Play Time Pals, a play program for children, from her home. Her husband is a real estate agent, according to neighbors and records.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI are aiding in the investigation.

After the disappearance, Marlene Aisenberg issued a public plea for the safe return of her daughter.

"I'm begging that person to please bring our baby back to us. We miss her and love her very much," she said. "Please bring her home to her family."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT