After domestic violence death, changes needed
Sharon Dorsett, mother of Jo'Anna Bird, reacts to photos shown during closing arguments in Leonardo Valdez-Cruz's murder trial at the Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola. (April 29, 2010) Credit: Howard Schnapp
Evil is a word to use sparingly.
But the crimes that Leonardo Valdez-Cruz has now been convicted of - torturing and murdering 24-year-old Jo'Anna Bird after her repeated pleas to police were poorly answered - is as evil as anything our justice system is ever forced to contend with.
Tormenting his former girlfriend, the mother of his own 4-year-old son. Terrorizing her for months on end, even from the Nassau County jail. Then finally fulfilling his own twisted threats, stabbing the young woman to death in her New Cassel apartment.
Really, what could be more evil than that?
But there is actually some reason for optimism this weekend, beyond the likelihood that Valdez-Cruz will now spend the rest of his life behind razor ribbon and prison bars. In death - sadly, far too late - Jo'Anna Bird's pleas are being answered.
Nassau police procedures for handling 911 domestic-violence calls have been genuinely improved. Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey has admitted that his department "failed" Jo'Anna Bird.
Even the Long Island media deserve real praise this time. Several outlets did good work. But News 12 Long Island gets a special mention for its Emmy-nominated "Justice for Jo'Anna" series and for reporter Matt Jablow's shocking jailhouse interview with Valdez-Cruz. News director Pat Dolan took an intense interest in the case, assigned significant resources and helped achieve valuable reform.
If the next Jo'Anna Bird is saved, the police, the courts, the Nassau district attorney, even the media, can take a small, quiet bow.
ASKED AND UNANSWERED: Oh, no, it's Long Island Marathon time? You mean I forgot to register - again? . . . The Shinnecock casino never gets built so close to Hofstra University - wanna bet? . . . Has Freddy Esposito explained to his parents yet what a copy of his driver's license was doing in Sean Finnegan's wallet? Of the many tough headlines about that bleak mistaken-ID story, did the Gothamist website sink the lowest? "Cops: Oops, Your Son Isn't Dead" . . . Could those "Jersey Shore" casting agents really tell the difference between the Jersey and LI accents? We'll know next season. You don't think they'd try to pass off South Shore as South Beach? . . . What good reason might Joseph Creedon have for allegedly firing a shotgun outside his Selden home? Lots of possible bad ones come to mind . . . Jeffrey Verde's East Islip to-do list? iPod, iGetDistracted, iDriveMyJeepIntoAyumaLaneHouse?
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'I'm going to try to avoid it' A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.
