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Baby Sabrina's Parents Indicted

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Sarah Huntley / The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 10, 1999

TAMPA — Weeks after saying their daughter was snatched from her crib, Steve and Marlene Aisenberg choked back tears as they sat beneath a poster of a beaming baby.

The couple once again tugged on the community's compassion, pleading for the safe return of their beloved 5-month-old Sabrina Paige.

But investigators now say the Aisenbergs knew full well that would never happen — and in fact, intentionally gave a wrong photo to those who were trying to help.

The photo, printed on thousands of posters, was of Sabrina's older sister as a toddler, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday, hours after the couple were arrested in Maryland.

The seven-count indictment, which charges the Aisenbergs with conspiracy and making false statements to authorities, is based largely on secret recordings made in their Valrico home. As Sabrina's parents went on a nationwide media blitz, investigators were listening to private conversations that seemed to contradict the Aisenbergs' kidnapping claims.

"The baby's dead and buried!" Marlene Aisenberg told her husband in a Dec. 23, 1997, conversation quoted in the indictment. "It was found dead because you did it."

Steve Aisenberg responded: "There was nothing I could do about it. We need to discuss the way that we can beat the charge."

The Aisenbergs' attorney, Barry Cohen, said Thursday his clients have done nothing wrong.

"I think the indictment is made up, frankly, of a bunch of innocent acts and innocent statements that are taken out of context," he said. "There are a lot of half-truths in there."

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachelle DesVaux Bedke told a federal magistrate at a court hearing in Greenbelt, Md., late Thursday that Steve Aisenberg admitted hurting the child.

"I wish I hadn't harmed her, it was the cocaine," DesVaux Bedke quoted Aisenberg as saying. The prosecutor said the couple's taped comments suggested they were "drugged" when they were speaking.

"The evidence has shown, after a long and torturous investigation, that the baby was not kidnapped," DesVaux Bedke said. "The baby is, in fact, dead, and they had some hand in it."

The 27-page indictment does not include murder charges. Authorities said the investigation into the Nov. 24, 1997, disappearance is continuing. Hillsborough State Attorney Harry Lee Coe III, who would decide whether to pursue state charges, declined to comment.

"We have charged what we feel is sufficient to charge at this time," U.S. Attorney Charles Wilson said. "Obviously, the success of investigations of this nature really depends on law enforcement agents receiving honest, truthful and candid information."

Prosecutors say they have 54 examples that suggest the Aisenbergs conspired to throw authorities off the trail. Among them are allegations that:

* The couple gave investigators inconsistent accounts of what woke them up. The Aisenbergs first said it was a noisy fish tank, but Steve Aisenberg later told detectives it was his wife's screams. In a separate interview, Marlene Aisenberg told agents she was rousted by a "television alarm."

* Marlene Aisenberg lied about wetting herself when she discovered her baby was gone. Prosecutors say she gave investigators different clothes from the ones she was wearing that morning.

* The couple falsely named three other people as potential suspects and schemed to place blame on a Michigan man.

* The Aisenbergs falsely attributed a bald spot on Sabrina's head to "crusty stuff behind her ears." Investigators enlarged photos taken from a video of Sabrina that showed what appeared to be injuries on her head and face. When confronted with the pictures, Marlene Aisenberg ran from the room, the indictment said, and her husband became red-faced and nervous.

The indictment also accuses the couple of using community donations to the Baby Sabrina fund to pay off their Discover and Sears credit cards.

Urging people "not to rush to judgment," the couple's attorney accused authorities of trying to justify the time and money they've spent on the case.

"This prosecution is the result of the government spending months and months trying to make a case," Cohen said.

Authorities don't contest that this was an expensive and lengthy investigation. Sheriff Cal Henderson said agents with his office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI followed up 2,000 leads, spoke to 6,000 people in 49 states and six countries, and spent about $1 million.

But Henderson said it wasn't "a witch hunt."

"We feel it's a valid indictment; the U.S. Attorney's Office feels it's a valid indictment. We weren't focusing on the Aisenbergs," he said. "We were focusing on the baby."

Steve Aisenberg was arrested at his work in Bethesda, Md., without incident, authorities said. But Marlene Aisenberg did not cooperate when FBI agents arrived at her home Thursday morning. She refused to open the door after five minutes of knocking and hung up when they called, DesVaux Bedke said. Agents had to force their way into the home.

The Aisenbergs were led separately into the Maryland courtroom, hands cuffed behind their backs and not looking at one another. Throughout the hearing, Steve Aisenberg sat stone-faced with flushed cheeks. Wearing a navy blue shirt, khaki shorts and black sneakers, he showed no reaction to DesVaux Bedke's allegations.

Marlene Aisenberg, clad in jeans, sandals and a pale blue knit top, sat on the edge of her chair throughout the hearing, and nodded each time the judge spoke to her or her lawyer.

The prosecutor argued that the Aisenbergs should each be required to post $50,000 bail, secured by property. Their signatures on an unsecured bond, she said, would be "worthless."

"These defendants have lied to law enforcement since the time they placed the 911 call," DesVaux Bedke said.

But Marlene Aisenberg's court-appointed attorney, Jeffrey Wennar, argued that the charges, especially the allegations concerning what his client was wearing the morning of the disappearance, were slim.

"My God, if that's all the government has, if that's what they're charging her with, that's a sad state," he said.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Day allowed the couple to go free Thursday evening, with the instruction that they post $25,000 secured bail today.

Day said the Aisenbergs have not given any indication they will flee. They knew charges were likely and notified investigators when they moved to Maryland.

He refused to order a social-service worker to the Aisenbergs' home to assess any threat to their two other children, Monica, 6, and William, 9. DesVaux Bedke said she was concerned about their safety.

The Aisenbergs left the courthouse silently holding hands, ignoring reporters' questions.

Those familiar with the federal system say prosecutors will have to prove that the Aisenbergs' false statements concerned important and relevant facts that were made on purpose. They weren't surprised to learn that the indictment includes a conspiracy charge.

"The conspiracy is much easier to prove, and you'll get a heavier sentence," said Jeff Brown, a Clearwater defense attorney and former prosecutor.

If convicted of all charges, Marlene Aisenberg could face 30 years behind bars and a $1.5 million fine. The charges against Steve Aisenberg carry maximum penalties of 25 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines.

Sheriff's office officials say they still hope to find Sabrina. When asked if there was any hope she might be alive, Henderson looked grim.

"We don't know," he said. "The information in the indictment would indicate the child is not alive, but they have lied to us in the past. We just don't know."

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