In her frantic Nov. 17 911 call, Jennifer Rosenbaum blurts out her full address in one breath, then confirms it again with the dispatcher. She quickly tells the man on the line that her 2-year-old foster daughter is choking, and that she’s giving her CPR.
Then Rosenbaum makes a comment that, given her arrest late last week on murder and child cruelty charges, may be interpreted either as calculated cover-up or honest explanation.
“I’m hoping I didn’t break her rib, I’ve been pushing hard,” she says. “I don’t really know how to do this.”
Rosenbaum, a 27-year-old Emory University law student and self-proclaimed candidate for the Henry County commission, was arrested Friday in connection with the death of the allegedly choking child, 2-year-old Laila Marie Daniel. Warrants accuse her of causing Laila's death, in part, by hitting her in the abdomen "with such force the child's pancreas was transected."
Police noted other bruises and breaks were across the girl’s body, and said she was also malnourished. Laila’s 4-year-old sister — who was also in the Rosenbaums’ care — claimed she was abused as well.
Rosenbaum has been charged with murder, aggravated assault and three separate counts of child abuse. She remains in the Henry County jail while awaiting a Dec. 15 bond hearing.
Her husband, Joseph, was charged with two counts of child abuse. He was released Monday on $10,000 bond.
Meanwhile, the couple's attorney, Corinne Mull, has already declared them innocent and questioned the work of investigators. The attorney claims the Rosenbaums didn't have custody of the children until late July. The warrants allege Laila's abuse occurred between June 13 and the day of her death, which leaves a window for contention, Mull said.
“When you take in foster children you don’t know what’s in their history,” Mull said.
Throughout her 911 call on the day Laila died, Rosenbaum says the girl had been choking on chicken, which was no longer in her mouth or throat, and is given instructions on how to properly perform CPR. The girl’s eyes are rolled back in her head, she says. No one else is in the home in the 1500 block of Lincoln Terrace, she says.
Finally, after several minutes, sirens can be heard in the background.
“Yes, I see them,” Rosenbaum tells the dispatcher. “But she’s not breathing.”
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