Missing baby's parents deny guilt

Published in The Orlando Sentinel on October 7, 1999.

TAMPA -- A couple accused of lying about the disappearance of their 5-month-old baby pleaded not guilty Wednesday before a federal magistrate, who urged them to get separate lawyers.

"There are pitfalls and dangers in being represented by joint counsel," U.S. Magistrate Mark A. Pizzo warned Marlene and Steve Aisenberg during a brief arraignment.

Pizzo set an Oct. 15 hearing for attorneys to address that issue. And he tentatively scheduled trial for sometime in December.

The Aisenbergs' lawyer, Barry Cohen, told Pizzo there was no potential conflict. Should the government offer immunity or a plea deal to either husband or wife, that would be the time to seek independent counsel, Cohen said.

The couple said their infant daughter, Sabrina, vanished from her crib Nov. 24, 1997, as the family slept in their home in Brandon.

They said they left their garage door opened, as they always did, and a stranger must have slipped in the middle of the night, without arousing Brownie, their dog.

The Aisenbergs made the national circuit of talk shows and missing-children organizations, pleading for the public to help.

An exhaustive neighborhood search using helicopters, horses, divers and bloodhounds turned up no clues. Neither did interviews in 48 states, officials said.

In the weeks after Sabrina vanished, authorities waited in the Aisenberg home for ransom demands. Using microphones, they listened to the couple's conversations, which seemed to contradict their kidnapping claims.

In a seven-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury Sept. 9, the parents were charged with conspiracy and various counts of lying to investigators about Sabrina's disappearance. The Aisenbergs discussed the baby's death and talked about what story to tell authorities, according to the indictment.

[Posted 10/07/1999 3:52 AM EST]