Russo Denies Abuse in Tense Day in Court

An affluent Westlake woman saw bites and scratches on her teen-age daughter’s body but assumed the marks were caused by the family’s dog, she testified Wednesday under intense cross-examination at her child-abuse trial.

“I thought maybe the dog might be doing it,” 52-year-old Charlotte Russo said after being confronted on the witness stand with pictures of the girl’s injuries.

“Isn’t it true that you never asked where the marks came from because you put them on her?” Deputy Dist. Atty. Dee Corona asked.

“No,” Russo answered. “I didn’t ask her where they came from, and I didn’t make the marks on her arms.”

That was one of many bitter exchanges Wednesday between the defendant and the prosecutor who wants to send her to prison for three years.

Fielding questions from the prosecution for the first time in two days of testimony, Russo admitted that she treated the girl differently from her six other children, often slapped the girl for talking back, would not let her attend eighth-grade graduation and considered the girl’s school performance more important than her happiness.

But the mother denied that she forced the girl to sleep in the back-yard racquetball court or routinely beat the girl for lying or doing poorly in her class work.

From the onset of the 2 1/2 hours of rancorous cross-examination, the prosecutor and the defendant often engaged in sharp exchanges.

It started with Corona’s first question.

“Have you ever had acting lessons?” Corona asked Russo as defense attorney James M. Farley quickly objected.

Superior Court Judge Charles R. Campbell Jr. allowed the question to stand.

“No,” Russo answered.

If she had not taken acting lessons, Corona followed up, then had she been coached by her husband, Richard, or anyone else on how to carry herself on the witness stand?

Corona noted that Russo had broken into tears during direct examination when recalling how she adopted the girl after watching a Jerry Lewis telethon 15 years ago.

Russo said she had not been coached to cry.

Farley repeatedly interrupted with objections during Corona’s cross-examination, saying at one point that the prosecutor was badgering his client.

Russo denied having anything to do with the decision in April of last year to lock the girl out of the family’s main house and force her to sleep in a back-yard racquetball court.

“Why do you want to avoid responsibility for your decisions?” Corona asked.

Farley objected, and Campbell told Corona, “I believe you are getting argumentative. So why don’t we just slow down and start over again?”

In another instance, Corona questioned Russo’s contention that the girl required a special low-sodium diet because salt caused her face and feet to swell. What is it about the girl that causes those reactions, the prosecutor asked.

“I don’t know,” Russo responded. “I’m not a doctor.”

Corona did not ask Russo, a registered nurse, any further medical questions or for many details about the two alleged incidents that resulted in felony and misdemeanor charges being filed against her: charges of locking the girl in the racquetball court and biting her on the arm.

But the prosecutor questioned the mother about whether she forced her daughter to do homework only two days after the girl had undergone open-heart surgery in the eighth grade.

“You’ve never cut her any slack with regard to her schoolwork because of her surgeries, have you?” Corona asked.

“Yes, I have,” Russo insisted.

Unlike during direct examination, Russo did not shed tears during the interrogation by Corona. But she often appeared to be worn down by the prosecutor’s rapid-fire questions.

After Russo said her husband was the one who banished the girl to sleep in the racquetball court, Corona asked: “Did you agree with it?”

“I accepted it,” Russo answered.

“ Did you agree with it?”

“I accepted it.”

“But did you agree with it?”

“Yes, I agreed with my husband,” Russo finally said.

Russo admitted that she treated her daughter differently than the other children by making the girl bike 13 miles to and from summer school.

Corona later asked Russo about the racquetball-court sleeping arrangement.

“Were any of the other kids required to sleep in the racquetball court?” Corona asked.

“No,” Russo said.

“Then (the girl) was treated differently when she was required to sleep in the racquetball court?” Corona said.

“I guess so,” Russo replied.