Parents, Girl Kidnapped 7 Years Ago Are Reunited

Seven years of heartbreak gave way to joy Friday as the parents of a child kidnapped seven years ago in California were reunited with the girl they remember as a chubby, 14-month-old toddler.

Pain overshadowed the joy, however, when officials disclosed that Crystal Leann Anzaldi, now 8, was physically and emotionally abused by the woman who masqueraded as her mother.

A Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the reunion took place at the home of a foster family that has been caring for Crystal.

Before the reunion, Dorothy and Jeffrey Anzaldi, who divorced after Crystal’s disappearance, appeared in court for a hearing to authenticate blood tests showing they are her biological parents--a first step toward reclaiming the child.

While her parents were in court, Crystal met her big sister, 10-year-old Kendra, for the first time in seven years.

“We were told it was wonderful,” said Jennifer Ramirez of Puerto Rico’s Family Department. “They played together all morning and painted together.”

Ramirez said Crystal would probably be given into the care of her father, who lives with his new wife, Kendra, and another daughter west of Portland, Ore. Her mother, who lives in Northern California, has agreed that the father should get custody.

However, Puerto Rican authorities indicated that the child’s return to the United States could take weeks.

Ramirez said there was little chance the woman who claimed to be Crystal’s mother, Nilza Gierbolini Guzman, would win custody.

“She admitted that she physically and emotionally abused the girl,” Ramirez said.

It was the first official word on the child abuse allegations, brought by Gierbolini’s estranged husband, that led Puerto Rican authorities to discover the child’s identity.

During their investigation, police determined that Crystal’s birth certificate--in the name of Sonia Guzman--was fraudulent. They examined 500 Internet photos of missing children before identifying a distinctive birthmark similar to Crystal’s. Blood tests confirmed Crystal’s identity.

Gierbolini, 35, who initially denied the abuse allegations, was jailed for several months on charges of falsifying a birth certificate and released on bail in December. She goes to trial in February.

She has not been charged with kidnapping, although a federal grand jury hearing was reopened in San Diego after Crystal was discovered and could bring an indictment.