Sabrina Aisenberg Msg Nov. 24, 1997 [UPDATE/Possible New Leads]

[Tracian]

Nov. 24, 1997, at 6:42 AM, a call to 911, placed by a mother reported her 5 month old infant, Sabrina, was missing. Marlene Aisenberg claimed she and her husband, Steve put the infant in her crib at 11 o'clock the prior evening and awoke the next morning to find an empty crib.

A garage door was left open, but the family dog, Brownie, never barked. There was no evidence of an intruder.

A massive search was immediately launched surrounding the infant's home and neighborhood.

After the parents were interviewed by law enforcement they decided to hire an attorney and refused to cooperate further, instead they made a media tour appearing on a host of national television shows to gain Support for their allegedly missing baby. They were critical of law enforcement. People within their community were beginning to suspect the parents..

The family home was tapped by law enforcement as part of their investigation.

Indictments against the parents were announced Thursday afternoon in Tampa by US Attorney Charles Wilson. The indictment claims the parents admitting to obstructing justice and responsibility for the death and cover up of young Sabrina.

There are two other children remaining in the home, a girl 4 and a boy 8 at the time of Sabrina's disappearance.

In February 2001, all charges against the Aisenbergs were dropped. US District ending the 18-month prosecution of Steven and Marlene Aisenberg.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the conduct of the two Hillsborough County, Fla., sheriff's detectives who first investigated the case and focused on the baby's parents. Stephen Kunz, was demoted and stripped of his supervisory responsibilities, shortly thereafter. His partner, Rachelle DesVaux Bedke, Federal Attorney, has been transferred to a different department. The two are being investigated by the Justice Department.

Sabrina has not been seen or heard from since Nov. 24, 1997. It's been seven years since the 5-month-old baby seemingly vanished.

Baby Sabrina has not yet been found.

The Official Web site of Sabrina Paige Aisenberg

Photo Gallery

Kidnapped, murdered -- what happened to Sabrina Aisenberg? Her parents say they don't know. Some people still don't believe them. Marlene and Steve Aisenberg speak out in a rare interview about their fight to find their daughter and free themselves from suspicion that won't go away.

A Time Line

People Involved

5-month-old disappears from crib -- "This morning, someone came into our house and took our baby, Sabrina Paige, out of her crib, out of our home,'' Aisenberg said with a trembling voice and tears in her eyes. ""I'm begging that person to please bring our baby back to us. We miss her and love her very much,'' she said. "Please bring her home to her family.''

Friends and neighbors visited the home of Steve and Marlene Aisenberg, bringing with them cards, food and hope that the couple's 5-month-old daughter will be found unharmed.

The Aisenberg Tapes

Rachelle DesVaux Bedke, US Attorney's Office, Tampa, will move to the economic crimes division immediately. The transfer comes less than two weeks after Bedke's partner on the Sabrina Aisenberg case, Stephen Kunz, was demoted and stripped of his supervisory responsibilities. Kunz had been deputy chief of the office's criminal division for seven years. The two are being investigated by the Justice Department.

From the moment the Aisenbergs were charged until the moment US District Judge Steven Merryday unceremoniously tossed the case with about the same distaste as an exterminator removing a dead rat from the attic, the predicate for indicting the parents had been based entirely on a series of electronic bugs placed in the couple's home, purporting to contain incriminating statements about their role in the disappearance.

Sheriff's Col. Jose Docobo drew the short straw to try explaining the inexplicable: How the two lead detectives in the missing Sabrina Aisenberg case, who lied under oath, fabricated evidence, obstructed justice, misled judges and otherwise turned the investigation into an embarrassing chapter of law enforcement malfeasance, duplicity and ineptitude, would not be disciplined. Oh sure, Detectives Linda Burton and William Blake, the bobblehead twins of befuddlement, will receive letters of reprimand.


Kari & Associates
PO Box 7126
Olympia, WA 98507

http://www.karisable.com/sabrina.htm

all sublinks at link provided.

[Tracian]

(CBS) Sabrina, the youngest daughter of Marlene and Steve Aisenberg, has not been seen or heard from since Nov. 24, 1997. It's been seven long years since the 5-month-old baby seemingly vanished.

"I have dreams often that she's coming home, and that we're playing, and the dreams are as vivid as they are real," says Steve.

"I believe she's just a beautiful young lady, 7 years old," says Marlene. "She's not a baby anymore."

They've tried to rebuild their lives, but Marlene says, "We are as happy as we can be until she comes home. … We will be an ecstatic family when we're all together like we should be."

For the Aisenbergs, the ordeal began in Valrico, Fla., just outside of Tampa. On the morning of Nov. 24, 1997, at 6:30 a.m., Marlene noticed that something had gone terribly wrong.

"It's the most horrific thing you can imagine, looking into your child’s crib and not seeing her there," says Marlene. "There is just nothing to describe it, and I remember just screaming, 'Steve' and calling 911."

Marlene and Steve would like to forget everything about that awful night, especially the garage door that they admit leaving open. That night, with the door open, the Aisenbergs can only assume that someone crept quietly into the house and snatched Sabrina while they were sleeping.

After Marlene called 911, Steve went next door to his neighbor, former Tampa cop Scott Middleton. Immediately, Middleton's police training kicked in: "I'm a parent myself. There just wasn't any emotion to say, 'My kids are gone.'"

But, as Correspondent Troy Roberts reports, it was just the beginning of the nightmare for the Aisenbergs, whose behavior was being examined and analyzed.

"There was no emotion," says Middleton. "There was absolutely no emotion with Steve and Marlene, like nothing had happened. They weren’t broken up, no tears being shed."

But news video shows how distraught Marlene was the morning Sabrina disappeared: "I didn't understand anything that was going on, I was in hysterics."

Within minutes of receiving a call, deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department descended on the Aisenberg home and the media was right behind them.

"This was the lead story in our newscast everyday for months, because everyday there was something new to tell," says reporter Bill McGinty, who covered the story for WTSP, the CBS affiliate in Tampa.

Sheriff's deputies began an extensive search in and around the Aisenberg home, but found nothing. Deputies were struck by the chaotic nature of the Aisenberg home. To the cops, it spelled neglect. But to her friends, it was just the way Marlene was.

"She was not an immaculate housekeeper," says her friend, Kathy Dotson. "Anybody would attest to that, that her house was a mess."

By the end of that first horrible day, police encouraged Steve and Marlene to go on television and plead for their daughter's safe return. But to a curious public, the Aisenbergs seemed cold and aloof.

"You’re in shock, and I don’t wish anybody having to step into my shoes. My baby is gone. I have no idea where she is and I have to say something," says Marlene. "You don’t know what to say, you don’t know how to react. There’s not a book you can read on what to go through when you’ve had something horrible happen in your life."

Everything was going against the Aisenbergs. For instance, there was a snippet of videotape that showed, for a brief moment, Steve with a smile on his face. "A lot of our behavior was what was dictated for us to do and be by the police," says Steve. "When we were leaving the house one day, they made a joke and we laughed."

"The focus of the story shifted from Sabrina Aisenberg, 5-month-old missing baby, to Marlene and Steve Aisenberg," says McGinty.

Even Brownie, the family dog, came under scrutiny. Why had he not barked at the intruder? "Brownie barked at everybody," says Middleton. "She just always barked. She was a noisy dog. I don't ever remember her being quiet."

With permission from the Aisenbergs, the FBI tapped their phone so that any call from a kidnapper could be traced. One of the first calls was from Steve’s brother, Dave, a lawyer, who warned Steve to be wary of the police.

When detectives listened in, they were amazed that Steve, supposedly awaiting a call from his child’s kidnappers, never answers the call-waiting beep that kicks in -- not once, but twice

To the police, this was proof that the Aisenbergs knew much more about their baby’s disappearance than they were saying. Any other concerned parent would have cleared that line immediately. Suspicious, they confronted Marlene, who said they told her they believed she knew where Sabrina was – or what had happened to her. "We called them here to help us find her, or who took her," says Marlene. "Where is she?"

Twenty-four hours after Sabrina was reported missing, the Aisenbergs were frustrated with the police response. They say police ignored tips about possible Sabrina sightings.

"They tried to find a body," says Marlene.

"The investigators never really got past Mr. and Mrs. Aisenberg," says Graham Brink, a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times. He's written extensively about the case. "In their minds, they could never rule them out as prime suspects."

"Don't investigate us at the exclusion of looking for our baby," says Steve.

Before Sabrina disappeared, life for the Aisenbergs largely revolved around their three children: Sabrina and her two older siblings, William, then 9, and Monica, then 5.

Marlene even started her own business for kids, running a baby and toddler exercise program. Steve worked real estate in Tampa’s booming economy.

But ugly gossip was spreading. Meanwhile, the Aisenbergs continued to cooperate with the investigation. Sheriff's detectives gave the Aisenbergs lie detector tests and then leaked information that some of Marlene's answers were "deceptive," even though Marlene says both tests were inconclusive.

The investigation was now three days old, and Steve heeded his brother’s advice. He hired Barry Cohen, one of the most high-profile and combative lawyers in Florida.

Cohen says there is nothing that points to his clients' guilt, but he says detectives had one mission, to prove the Aisenbergs were involved. "When I saw the police were acting in bad faith and that they were destined to try to frame Marlene and Steve, that’s when we stopped cooperating," says Cohen.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office refused to talk to 48 Hours Mystery about the case, but McGinty says the cops definitely pursued other leads, even though the vast majority were from people who mistakenly thought they had spotted Sabrina.

"We went to their Aisenberg war room, where they had volumes of information, places they’d been to, thousands of different leads," says McGinty.

But there's no doubt the police felt stymied, just when they thought they were on the verge of breaking the couple. The police thought their best suspects were sitting at home, so in a highly unusual move, detectives got a warrant allowing them to secretly plant tiny listening devices called bugs in the Aisenberg's kitchen and bedroom.

"I think they thought it was their last chance of getting the Aisenbergs," says Brink. "The investigators didn’t have any physical evidence at that point. They didn’t have any eyewitness statements. They hadn’t found Sabrina. There had been no ransom note."

48 Hours asked Mike Perros, a wiretap and bug detection expert, to come to the Aisenberg home to demonstrate how the wiretapping operation worked. He explained that the sound quality is excellent, as long as it's applied correctly.

Every day, for nearly three months, from 7 a.m. to midnight, sheriff deputies listened and recorded thousands of private conversations going on in the Aisenberg home.

Sabrina had only been gone for two months, but a federal grand jury was convened to examine her disappearance. The Aisenbergs were asked to testify, but Cohen advised them to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights. "I think we did what we felt was necessary at the time," says Steve. "We did what we were advised to do."

Cohen says he advised his clients not to testify because of the reputation of lead federal prosecutor Steven Kunz: "He has no business being in the system."

As the grand jury heard testimony, social services workers showed up at the Aisenberg's front door to investigate whether the couple's older children, William and Monica, were being mistreated.

"We were furious," says Marlene. "I think they wanted to scare us and let us think that they were taking away our children."

But it was just the beginning of the Aisenberg's ordeal.

As in the JonBenet Ramsey case, detectives looking for Sabrina were convinced the parents were somehow involved.

"I think once law enforcement collectively decided that the Aisenbergs were responsible and guilty, then whatever it took to implicate and to charge them, that was going to be done," says John Fitzgibbons, a former U.S. attorney now in private practice in Tampa.

Meanwhile, the Aisenbergs were trying to keep their hopes alive. "What I think about is how can I bring my daughter home," asks Steve.

By May 1999, the Aisenbergs were struggling financially, so they sold their house in Florida and moved back to Steve’s childhood home in Bethesda, Md.

Just four months later, on Sept. 9, Marlene received some unexpected visitors at home. Frantic, she called Cohen. "They're in the house. They've broken into the house," recalls Marlene. "There's a gun being pointed right at my face. It was the most horrifying thing other than waking up and finding my daughter not in her crib."

The intruders told Marlene they were the FBI. At the same time, agents were arresting Steve across town. He says they put him in a cell, strip-searched him, and took fingerprints and photos.

Marlene and Steve were later released on bail, using Steve's father's home as collateral. The Aisenbergs were indicted for conspiracy and for lying to investigators, not for murder. The charges, if proved, could send them to prison for up to 30 years.

The indictment is based on the secret police bugging operation that lasted nearly three months. Those bugs recorded more than 2,600 conversations between the Aisenbergs in which police say they discussed killing their daughter.

Prosecutors say these taped conversations proved that Steve had killed their daughter.

"I thought, ‘The government has a hell of a powerful case here,’" says Fitzgibbons.

At the couple's bail hearing, a federal prosecutor told a judge she had heard Steve on tape saying, "I wish I hadn't harmed her. It was the cocaine.”

"I'll do drug tests from now to eternity, and you’ll never find any drugs in my system," adds Steve. "I never said anything that they say I said. Marlene never said anything that they said she said."

But do the tapes contain a confession, or will they just add to the confusion already surrounding the case?

It's been more than two years since Sabrina vanished from her crib. And federal prosecutors were sure they had a case, not a murder case, but a case of conspiracy.

In December 2000, the Aisenbergs were about to have their day in court. The audiotapes were the backbone of the prosecution's entire case. But people in the courtroom said it was very difficult to understand the tapes.

"I later described it as it sounding like chickens squawking with a hurricane playing in the background," says Brink. "It was just noise."

"All we could hear in the courtroom that day was mumbling. And you could hear the hum of appliances," adds McGinty. "When it was played in open court and the judge looked over at the prosecutor, and that look was a glare, 'This is the best you got?'"

Cohen hired a former analyst from the FBI to listen to the tapes. To combat Cohen's expert witness, Kunz hired celebrity private investigator Anthony Pellicano, whose clients included Michael Jackson and Liz Taylor.

Pellicano had a reputation for resorting to violence to get his way, and he later pleaded guilty to possessing illegal explosives. "Why would the government stoop to hiring Tony Pellicano, when shortly after that, he was indicted himself, and he's in federal prison today," asks Cohen.

It appeared that Pellicano and the prosecutors were the only ones in the courtroom who could hear the incriminating evidence and this came as no surprise to the Aisenberg team.

48 Hours hired its own audio expert, Jack Mitchell, to listen to the tapes. "It's almost as if it were just simply made up," says Mitchell, who has worked for the U.S. Department of Justice. "There is no evidence whatsoever on any of these recordings that I have examined that will implicate the Aisenbergs in the disappearance of Baby Sabrina. None."

Mitchell has analyzed hundreds of tapes during his career, and is convinced that some of these voices may not even belong to the Aisenbergs.

48 Hours also played the tape to Perros, who could not understand any of the evidence. "It sounds like they had some type of technical problem with the application," says Perros.

The damning evidence was nowhere to be found. "All lies, just all lies. We knew there was nothing on those tapes," says Marlene.

All of this was enough to make Cohen suspect the worst, that the Aisenbergs were framed. "They wanted a quick confession, clear this case, and look good," says Cohen. "But the only problem was they didn't have any facts, so they had to make them."

The prosecution's case against the couple began collapsing. Now, it was the feds who had some tough questions to answer.

In fact, two judges appointed to review the prosecution's case found the Aisenberg tapes were "largely unintelligible." They called some of the statements false, and pure fiction. In a stunning blow to the prosecution, the recordings were ruled inadmissible.

One week later, all charges were dropped.

After repeated calls to Kunz were not returned, 48 Hours approached him for answers. He refused to comment.

While it was a hollow victory for the Aisenbergs, they have never given up. Today, they hope a new clue will bring their daughter home.

To this day, the Aisenbergs keep a separate bedroom in their Maryland home reserved just for Sabrina, even buying her souvenirs from their vacations.

They believe Sabrina is somewhere alive and well, and is being raised by a family who desperately wanted a child. At times, Sabrina’s return has seemed tantalizingly close.

But Marlene has good reason to never give up hope. In May 2003, a couple in Illinois began adoption proceedings on a 6-year-old child, Baby Paloma, who did not have a birth certificate. The Aisenbergs were hopeful, and Pontiac Police Chief Don Scholsser began an investigation.

A lot of people, including the Aisenbergs, believed the mystery behind Sabrina’s disappearance was about to be solved. "It all just seemed like it was gonna fit, and that this could really be her," says Marlene. "We were on pins and needles, on edge, just praying it was gonna be her."

For two weeks, they waited for the results of a DNA analysis. But Paloma’s DNA did not match. Paloma's natural mother was a Mexican woman who abandoned her baby at a clinic on the Texas border. A nurse at the clinic gave the baby to her sister in Illinois. Eventually, the sister adopted Paloma legally.

Are the Aisenbergs still angry? "If they bring Sabrina home, I won't be angry, and I have to pray that they will do the right thing, that they will look for her and bring her home," says Marlene.

These days, the Aisenbergs put their hope in those who’ve stood by them; the staff at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has been invaluable.

Joe Mullins is a forensic artist at the center who creates age-progressed photos of what children may look like years after they’ve gone missing. This technology has helped in the recovery of more than 500 children.

Using facial features from Sabrina’s older brother and sister at about the same age, Mullins creates this image of what Sabrina might look like today at 7.

"I pray to God somebody can look at her and say, 'That's an Aisenberg,'" says Marlene. "I believe that she could herself see this picture, and she's old enough to say, 'Oh my God, this looks like me.'"

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/13/48hours/main666740.shtml

[Tracian]

http://www.forthelost.org/saisenberg.htm


This site has age dated photos, and more on this case.

[SaberGal]

Thanks for posting this. I do not believe the Aisenberg's had anything to do with the disappearance of baby Sabrina. They were victim's of LE misconduct of the worst kind with the help of dirty Tony Pellicano.

[Tracian]

Thanks for posting this. I do not believe the Aisenberg's had anything to do with the disappearance of baby Sabrina. They were victim's of LE misconduct of the worst kind with the help of dirty Tony Pellicano.


Hey Saber, love ya, but disagree....

I am a mother, and the mother here, like Susan Smith cries with phantom tears that she brushes away...I cry watching Halmark commercials...something is wrong here.

But I will be so happy to be proven wrong, you have no idea how much I want to be wrong...I think there is a possiblity that they gave her away, but I can't shake their lack of emotion, or their attempt to create emotion.

[SaberGal]

Hey Saber, love ya, but disagree....

I am a mother, and the mother here, like Susan Smith cries with phantom tears that she brushes away...I cry watching Halmark commercials...something is wrong here.

But I will be so happy to be proven wrong, you have no idea...

Awww! It's OK to disagree! I still love you!

I am a crier myself so I understand what you are saying. But people react differently to situations - especially when they are accused basically from day one. She was heartbroken but also angry because the cops were not out looking for her baby - they were looking for a body.

The break-in's in their neighborhood (all homes with babies), the un-identified fingerprint in their home...someone called in a tip the day of her disappearance stating that someone was at Tampa International flying out with a baby that looked exactly like Sabrina. Cops never investigated this tip.

The cops investigating this made up their minds on day one what happened and proceeded to manufacture evidence that fit their theory and sway public opinion against the Aisenberg's. Out of the investigating LE and the Aisenberg's, it's LE that are the real criminals in this case.

I don't know if Sabrina will ever be found but I didn't think Elizabeth Smart would be either. I really hope the Aisenberg's have as happy an ending to this case as the Smart family.

[Tracian]

Awww! It's OK to disagree! I still love you!

I am a crier myself so I understand what you are saying. But people react differently to situations - especially when they are accused basically from day one. She was heartbroken but also angry because the cops were not out looking for her baby - they were looking for a body.

The break-in's in their neighborhood (all homes with babies), the un-identified fingerprint in their home...someone called in a tip the day of her disappearance stating that someone was at Tampa International flying out with a baby that looked exactly like Sabrina. Cops never investigated this tip.

The cops investigating this made up their minds on day one what happened and proceeded to manufacture evidence that fit their theory and sway public opinion against the Aisenberg's. Out of the investigating LE and the Aisenberg's, it's LE that are the real criminals in this case.

I don't know if Sabrina will ever be found but I didn't think Elizabeth Smart would be either. I really hope the Aisenberg's have as happy an ending to this case as the Smart family.


From your mouth to God/dess's ears...

I want a happy ending, but something bugs me...I have followed this case for ten years, and gotta be honest, something is missing...something is wrong...I don't judge her for 'not crying' just the 'pretend crying'...wiping non-existent tears...it does not impress me, in fact, IMO, it is a red flag.

Tell ya what, we may disagree, but I think we can agree to pray for a miracle..Shawn Hornbeck came home after 7 years, so did Steven Stainer (sorry about spelling) so it is possible.

:1222423::1222423: for Sabrina...may she find her way home, or may she find justice, whatever road that may lead.

[SaberGal]

From your mouth to God/dess's ears...

I want a happy ending, but something bugs me...I have followed this case for ten years, and gotta be honest, something is missing...something is wrong...I don't judge her for 'not crying' just the 'pretend crying'...wiping non-existent tears...it does not impress me, in fact, IMO, it is a red flag.

Tell ya what, we may disagree, but I think we can agree to pray for a miracle..Shawn Hornbeck came home after 7 years, so did Steven Stainer (sorry about spelling) so it is possible.

:1222423::1222423: for Sabrina...may she find her way home, or may she find justice, whatever road that may lead.

Absolutely....:1222423:

[nanabillie]

Have either of you ever seen a picure of the baby smiling? I could not find one. I know she was only five months old. I remember this case from the beginning and have always had a bad feeling about the parents. And I have always thought something was wrong with Sabrina. Maybe mentally challenged? I thought the side of her head was missing hair, also. I wonder what happened to baby Sabrina.

[SaberGal]

Have either of you ever seen a picure of the baby smiling? I could not find one. I know she was only five months old. I remember this case from the beginning and have always had a bad feeling about the parents. And I have always thought something was wrong with Sabrina. Maybe mentally challenged? I thought the side of her head was missing hair, also. I wonder what happened to baby Sabrina.

I don't believe I ever saw a "still" photo of her smiling but I do recall video footage of her crawling, laughing and smiling...just a precious, normal baby!

The press did a great job of painting the Aisenberg's in the worst light possible...

JMO

[Tracian]

I don't believe I ever saw a "still" photo of her smiling but I do recall video footage of her crawling, laughing and smiling...just a precious, normal baby!

The press did a great job of painting the Aisenberg's in the worst light possible...

JMO



They provided the canvas.

[Faith]

The Official Website of
Sabrina Paige Aisenberg

http://www.marvelcreations.com/sabrina.html

[packy]

It's been while since I followed this case, and it seemed to me that LE didn't look too hard for Sabrina. Wasn't there some input from neighbors about seeing or hearing something that night that could point to an intruder.

[Harmony]

It's been while since I followed this case, and it seemed to me that LE didn't look too hard for Sabrina. Wasn't there some input from neighbors about seeing or hearing something that night that could point to an intruder.

I followed the case closely at the time but it has been a while. I agree that LE did not look hard enough. I do not recall info from neighbors but there was a shoeprint on the cribskirt and a unidentified fingerprint I think on the backdoor. I have always been neutral on the parent's involvement but Marc Klass was very suspicious of them (in a Larry King interview with the parents).

[Tracian]

I followed the case closely at the time but it has been a while. I agree that LE did not look hard enough. I do not recall info from neighbors but there was a shoeprint on the cribskirt and a unidentified fingerprint I think on the backdoor. I have always been neutral on the parent's involvement but Marc Klass was very suspicious of them (in a Larry King interview with the parents).


I hate to say it, but I think the parents are involved; I don't understand why they were smiling and stuff the following day on their way to the LE station; they claim that the detectives told them to smile, but if it was my child, I don't think I would be able to smile regardless. Also, I noticed that when the mother talks, she 'crys' without tears, that bugs me.

[Roamer]

As a parent, I hope I'm wrong, but I've always thought they were involved, too.

[SavannahStar]

I followed the case closely at the time but it has been a while. I agree that LE did not look hard enough. I do not recall info from neighbors but there was a shoeprint on the cribskirt and a unidentified fingerprint I think on the backdoor. I have always been neutral on the parent's involvement but Marc Klass was very suspicious of them (in a Larry King interview with the parents).

I used to like Klass but for the last year or so he's really gotten on my nerves when I've seen him on various shows. Too much arrogance for me. Same with John Walsh, although I think he's done some absolutely wonderful things since his son's abduction.....that goes without saying.

Re Aisenbergs....I never thought the parents were involved.

Sure is a mysterious case. Wish there would be an answer.

[5boxersmom]

It has always bugged me that the dog didn't bark if someone was in the house. When the film crew was there for 48 hours or Dateline that dog did not shut up.

[SaberGal]

It's been while since I followed this case, and it seemed to me that LE didn't look too hard for Sabrina. Wasn't there some input from neighbors about seeing or hearing something that night that could point to an intruder.

The Aisenberg's neighborhood had several attempted break-in's and all of those homes had babies that lived there. I think LE made a huge mistake in concluding from the moment they arrived that Sabrina was dead and parents were somehow involved. This not only makes them lose credibility, IMO, but gave them a severe case of tunnel vision by only focusing on one scenario. IIRC, the morning she was reported missing, tips came flooding in with sightings of Sabrina at Tampa International Airport. These "leads" weren't followed up on for days, And, well, you know what happened...it was an airport.

And because there was absolutely NO evidence that the parents had anything to do with it, or that Sabrina was even dead, LE hired famed private investigator Anthony Pellicano to do their dirty work and help manufacture "evidence." Thankfully that didn't work and the fallout for LE officials involved was huge. I believe those involved in the debacle lost their careers and some might have even been brought up on criminal charges, iirc.

[SaberGal]

I hate to say it, but I think the parents are involved; I don't understand why they were smiling and stuff the following day on their way to the LE station; they claim that the detectives told them to smile, but if it was my child, I don't think I would be able to smile regardless. Also, I noticed that when the mother talks, she 'crys' without tears, that bugs me.

I think if my baby had just been kidnapped, and I have turned to LE for help...If they told me to smile, I'd smile - LE are the "professionals" and know what they are talking about. I would do whatever they told me to do to help get my baby back. I would never dream that they were trying to "set me up" in the press but I do believe that is what happened in this case.

As for the tears....maybe she has a medical problem? Or maybe she's angry that instead of trying to find her child, LE threw all of their efforts and energy into trying to convict her and her husband for something they didn't do.

Hate to disagree with you, Tracian, but we still don't see eye to eye on this case! :22wink:

[Tracian]

I think if my baby had just been kidnapped, and I have turned to LE for help...If they told me to smile, I'd smile - LE are the "professionals" and know what they are talking about. I would do whatever they told me to do to help get my baby back. I would never dream that they were trying to "set me up" in the press but I do believe that is what happened in this case.

As for the tears....maybe she has a medical problem? Or maybe she's angry that instead of trying to find her child, LE threw all of their efforts and energy into trying to convict her and her husband for something they didn't do.

Hate to disagree with you, Tracian, but we still don't see eye to eye on this case! :22wink:

I respect your opinion, :)

I have to say, the mother just reminds me of Susan Smith, she had the same crying sound in her voice, but no tears, it just seems phony, of course this is not evidence just my feeling on the subject, oh BTW, when I mention the lack of tears, that was even in early pleas for her child to be returned.

Also, while I agree that LE are professionals, there is another case, where LE told the father to say he killed their missing daughter 'just for the polygraph test, to gear his responses' and he refused.

I don't think LE told them to smile and laugh like they were on their way to the fair, it seemed like a silly thing for them to say; and if they did, I would be enraged, which IMO, would be a reasonable response to such a suggestion.

There are too many strange things in this case, in some ways it reminds of the Ramsey case, another case, that I fear the truth will never be known.

The dog not barking bothers me as well; I am not saying I am 100% sure the parents are involved, but right at this moment, personally, I cannot say that I think that they are 100% innocent either.

Always a pleasure SaberGal, disagreeing with intelligent posters is just as fun as agreeing with them.

[Tracian]

http://fictionway.com/2007/10/15/search-for-sabrina-aisenberg/

the above link kinda sums up my problems with the parents of this case.

[packy]

I followed the case closely at the time but it has been a while. I agree that LE did not look hard enough. I do not recall info from neighbors but there was a shoeprint on the cribskirt and a unidentified fingerprint I think on the backdoor. I have always been neutral on the parent's involvement but Marc Klass was very suspicious of them (in a Larry King interview with the parents).

I remember the shoeprint but I was thinking that someone in the neighborhood did hear something out of order, maybe I'm thinking of the breakins that they were talking about.

[packy]

The Aisenberg's neighborhood had several attempted break-in's and all of those homes had babies that lived there. I think LE made a huge mistake in concluding from the moment they arrived that Sabrina was dead and parents were somehow involved. This not only makes them lose credibility, IMO, but gave them a severe case of tunnel vision by only focusing on one scenario. IIRC, the morning she was reported missing, tips came flooding in with sightings of Sabrina at Tampa International Airport. These "leads" weren't followed up on for days, And, well, you know what happened...it was an airport.

And because there was absolutely NO evidence that the parents had anything to do with it, or that Sabrina was even dead, LE hired famed private investigator Anthony Pellicano to do their dirty work and help manufacture "evidence." Thankfully that didn't work and the fallout for LE officials involved was huge. I believe those involved in the debacle lost their careers and some might have even been brought up on criminal charges, iirc.

So they were basically framing the parents huh.

[SaberGal]

I respect your opinion, :)

I have to say, the mother just reminds me of Susan Smith, she had the same crying sound in her voice, but no tears, it just seems phony, of course this is not evidence just my feeling on the subject, oh BTW, when I mention the lack of tears, that was even in early pleas for her child to be returned.

Also, while I agree that LE are professionals, there is another case, where LE told the father to say he killed their missing daughter 'just for the polygraph test, to gear his responses' and he refused.

I don't think LE told them to smile and laugh like they were on their way to the fair, it seemed like a silly thing for them to say; and if they did, I would be enraged, which IMO, would be a reasonable response to such a suggestion.

There are too many strange things in this case, in some ways it reminds of the Ramsey case, another case, that I fear the truth will never be known.

The dog not barking bothers me as well; I am not saying I am 100% sure the parents are involved, but right at this moment, personally, I cannot say that I think that they are 100% innocent either.

Always a pleasure SaberGal, disagreeing with intelligent posters is just as fun as agreeing with them.

I don't think anyone can say 100% whether Sabrina is alive or dead, or if the Aisenberg's had anything to do with her disappearance. They might well have done something horrible to Sabrina but I haven't seen any hard evidence supporting that theory.

As for his seeming "jovial" mood when he was smiling and laughing outside their home....to me, that is an indicator of innocence! If he knew that Sabrina was dead I don't think that he would be able to function much less walk around smiling and laughing. I think regardless of people's opinions about the Aisenberg's guilt, most will agree that if they killed her it was not intentional. So, unless he turned into a sociopath overnight, if he knew that his baby daughter had just been killed, I would expect him to be a basket case. However, if he believes his daughter had been kidnapped and LE is telling the parents, "Hey, the kidnappers might be watching you so you need to appear relaxed, hopeful, and un-panicked" and then the cops make a joke as they are walking out to the car (out in public where he thinks the kidnappers are watching) I would expect that he would chuckle and smile, following LE suggestions, hoping somehow it would help bring Sabrina home.

As for her lack of tears I am betting she was in a state of shock. Again, for the same reason, it could be debated that her lack of tears is an indicator of her innocence. If she knew that Sabrina was dead, I think we would have seen buckets full. Instead, I saw a mother who was angry and in shock because someone broke into their home and took their baby.

Now...the dog not barking is bothersome. I have two and it seems most days, our neighbor can't toot without my dogs letting me know about it. My male is a very light sleeper but I think that's because he's extremely paranoid and is constantly on guard for what he is convinced is out to get him. My female OTOH, in the middle of the night, gets into such a deep sleep that I sometimes wonder if DH slipped her a sleeping pill. Point being that all dogs are different. And who knows...maybe the dog did bark but the Aisenberg's were tired and didn't think it was anything to worry about? Maybe the kidnapper came prepared with doggie treats - my female will do anything for food. There could be several explanations...

What bothers me the most about this case is how far LE went to manufacture evidence against the Aisenberg's with those ridiculous "transcripts" since there wasn't any real evidence. Scary! The unidentified fingerprint is also rather curious although I suppose that could be explained a number of ways.

I agree with you on the Ramsey case - I am afraid we will never know exactly what happened. I don't think the parents had anything to do with Jon Benet's death though....are you shocked? LOL! I swear I don't think everyone is innocent...take OJ for example. :girl_haha:

:11_2_104:

JMHO, as always!

[TigressPen]

Jail Chatter Provides Lead in Aisenberg Case


BY COLLEEN JENKINS, REBECCA CATALANELLO, JAN WESNER & JOHN MARTIN
St. Petersburg Times


Published: Monday, July 28, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, July 28, 2008 at 6:51 a.m.

TAMPA | Detectives are pursuing new leads in the 1997 disappearance of baby Sabrina Aisenberg, armed with jailhouse chatter secretly recorded by an inmate who wore a wire.

Sheriff's investigators for the first time have shown mug shots to residents of the Aisenbergs' old Valrico neighborhood and have inquired about boats for sale at the time of the crime. They are asking other people about a long-haired felon known to frequent Tampa Bay by boat.

The disappearance of 5-month-old Sabrina was followed by years of drama, as prosecutors brought criminal charges against her parents, only to see their case collapse after embarrassing errors and tactical flaws.

The investigation's new focus included a man wearing a listening device at the behest of Hillsborough sheriff's detectives and providing them with information from a jailmate, Scott D. Overbeck, according to court transcripts.

Overbeck, a 6-foot-tall biker described by friends as an adrenaline junkie who loved boats, is currently in custody, facing federal charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and an explosive device.

Authorities have not named Overbeck, 44, as a suspect, but his friends say detectives have questioned them in recent months. Investigators asked one man whether he knew of any connection between Overbeck and Marlene Aisenberg, the baby's mother.

Detectives showed the friend a photo of a small boat that he recognized as having sat idle in Overbeck's driveway and garage for many years.

Some former Aisenberg neighbors got the sense that investigators had made significant progress in the case.

"They said they were real close to solving it," said neighbor Charles Jones.

Tony Peluso, the sheriff's lawyer in charge of the investigation, declined Friday to answer any questions.

'VERY PROMISING LEADS'


The Hillsborough Sheriff's Office has followed some 2,000 tips since Sabrina vanished from a crib in her family's home on Nov. 24, 1997. Last December, after the 10-year anniversary passed, Peluso said more investigators had been added to the case to chase down "some very promising leads."

That same month, court records show, detectives returned a man to Hillsborough County who had been serving a three-year prison sentence for battering a police officer.

The man, Dennis Byron, was a friend of Overbeck's. Records show he once was in two car crashes in one day while driving Overbeck's Dodge Ram.

Detectives had visited him in prison to learn what he knew about the Aisenberg case, Byron said.

After his Dec. 20 return to the Orient Road Jail, Byron wore a wire to obtain information from Overbeck, he later told a judge.

The two men were in jail together for 50 days. At a court hearing later, Byron said his recorded conversation with Overbeck had confirmed everything that Byron previously told detectives about Sabrina's disappearance. He also said he passed a polygraph test.

In court, Byron did not offer specifics of that information. But authorities rewarded his cooperation. In January, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Wayne Timmerman reduced Byron's three-year mandatory-minimum prison sentence to 24 months of community control.

Karen Stanley, second-in-command to Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober, attended the hearing and did not object.

On Friday, she told the St. Petersburg Times that at Peluso's request she did not challenge the resentencing. Citing the pending investigation, she declined to elaborate.

"Karen is entitled to say whatever she wants," Peluso said. "I'm not going to comment on an active and ongoing investigation."

Byron was rearrested Feb. 8 after fleeing his residential drug treatment program. He tried to get leniency from a new judge, based on his previous assistance to the Sheriff's Office, but a prosecutor said detectives had severed ties.

The judge sentenced Byron to more than five years in prison. He is now at Gainesville Correctional Institution.

BOAT IN THE DRIVEWAY

During the past five or six months, detectives have focused attention on the people who know Overbeck.

They talked to John Doyle, 60, who cared for Overbeck's father at his Dana Shores home while Clark Overbeck was ailing from cancer. The elder Overbeck, who owned a successful construction company that built apartment complexes around the Tampa Bay area, died in 1999.

Doyle said this week that he recognized Dennis Byron from a pack of photographs shown by sheriff's detectives.

"He was a mess," Doyle said, characterizing Byron as the kind of guy who always invited trouble.

Doyle said he also recognized a picture of Scott Overbeck's boat, a narrow, white, "miniature cigarette boat," with two seats, and a red stripe.

Most of the time Doyle saw the boat, it was sitting with a broken motor in the driveway of the Overbeck home at 3903 E Eden Roc Circle. Early on, Doyle said, Scott and a girlfriend used the boat on canals and in the bay near the Courtney Campbell Parkway.

For years, the boat sat in a driveway already cluttered with dune buggies, a refrigerator, a Corvette and more. "It looked like a junkyard," Doyle said.

He figures detectives have the boat now, given the photo they showed him.

"What I heard," Doyle said, is "Scott said he bought that boat off one of the Aisenbergs. I don't know if that's true."

CALL HIM 'TOMBSTONE'

Overbeck's arrest history dates to 1987. In March 2007, he was sentenced to two years of house arrest on a cocaine possession charge. He has served probation for resisting an officer with violence, driving under the influence, fleeing and eluding at high speeds and battery. Detectives once described his home as a "distribution point and supply house for crack cocaine."

According to Overbeck's neighbors and acquaintances, Overbeck kept company with fellow drug users and Willie Crain, a crab fisherman awaiting execution for the murder of 7-year-old Amanda Brown.

"Scott knew Crain enough to stop and speak to him if he saw him on the water tending to his traps," said Thomas J. Obenski, a 40-year-old construction superintendent who once lived and partied with Scott Overbeck.

Amanda disappeared on Sept. 9, 1998 less than 10 months after Sabrina Aisenberg vanished from her parents' home. The second-grader's body has never been found, but prosecutors alleged that Crain snatched Amanda from her bed, murdered her and disposed of her body in one of his crab traps in Old Tampa Bay.

Overbeck, who used the nickname "Tombstone'' as a biker, sometimes gave chilling accounts of his own activities, Obenski said, leaving friends to wonder whether the tales were flights of fancy or terrible truth.

"Scott was a very demented and twisted person," Obenski said.

Obenski recalled Overbeck owning boats, including one like the boat in the sheriff's photo a scaled-down cigarette boat with no title or registration. Obenski always wondered whether it had been stolen.

STARTING FROM SCRATCH

Several of the Aisenbergs' former neighbors have been questioned recently by investigators who showed them pictures. None of the neighbors recognized any faces.

Charles Jones, who lived next door to the Aisenbergs, said detectives asked whether he had seen a boat parked in their driveway the night Sabrina disappeared. Not then or ever, Jones said.

Mary and Peter McDonald, who live a few blocks up the street, didn't remember the Aisenbergs having a boat or water scooters either.

The Hillsborough County detectives told the couple they were starting from scratch on the case.

Tampa defense lawyer Barry Cohen, who represents Steve and Marlene Aisenberg, had no comment Friday. Federal prosecutors indicted the couple in 1999, accusing them of lying about their daughter's disappearance. But the charges were dropped after a federal judge called parts of the indictment "trivial," "gratuitous" and "misleading" and called the secretly recorded audiotapes from the Aisenbergs' home largely unintelligible.

Interim U.S. Attorney Robert O'Neill said his office has stopped investigating the Aisenberg case.

"We closed out any case that may have ever been open," O'Neill said Friday. "I don't foresee it ever being reopened. "

Prosecutor Stanley said the Sheriff's Office sometimes consulted the State Attorney's Office about their investigation, but "it's been a while since I've heard anything about the case."

A man who inherited Overbeck's father's construction business and has known the younger Overbeck since they were teens thinks that detectives are wasting their time with him.

"They are trying to connect him to some larger realm," Jeff Johnson said. "There is no larger realm. He's a druggie. That's all he is."


http://www.theledger.com/article/20080728/NEWS/807280406/1003/NEWS00&title=Jail_Chatter_Provides_Lead_in_Aisenberg_Case

[Faith]

http://images.theledger.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=LL&Date=20080728&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=807280406&Ref=AR&Profile=1410&MaxW=250&border=0

[Grande]

http://i37.tinypic.com/2wbymgz.jpg

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[Grande]

http://i33.tinypic.com/20qf2h5.jpg

[SavannahStar]

Geez he is one SKEEEEEEEEERY lookin dude!

I live in the Tampa Bay area and these new developments (not proven yet, of course) are THE talk of the town.

[TigressPen]

In print: Sunday, August 3, 2008


The Aisenberg case so far


New developments have made the last week one of the most dramatic in years for the investigation into the 1997 disappearance of 5-month-old Sabrina Aisenberg. Here's the story so far:

The St. Petersburg Times reported on July 26 that the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office had been asking residents of the Aisenbergs' old Valrico neighborhood questions about a boat and showing them mug shots.

They were acting on leads from an informer named Dennis Byron. He told investigators that his friend, a felon named Scott Overbeck, said in a 2005 conversation he had disposed of Sabrina's body by dumping it in crab traps in Old Tampa Bay.

Sheriff's investigators wired Byron and put him in a jail cell with Overbeck to get the admission on tape. Those recordings haven't been made public, but in a sworn statement, Byron says Overbeck told him he retrieved a boat with the dead baby inside from the Aisenbergs' house.

Byron believed the handoff was organized by an investigator who worked for the Aisenbergs' defense attorney Barry Cohen. That investigator, John E. Tranquillo, died in 2006.

An outraged Cohen said the Sheriff's Office was trying to implicate him in Sabrina's disappearance, partly as a vendetta for failing to convict the Aisenbergs.

The Sheriff's Office denied it. While investigators won't comment on the case, Byron's attorney said authorities told him they had independent evidence confirming Byron's account.

In the past six months, detectives have focused on people who knew Overbeck and a 12-foot boat kept at his house. In a sworn statement, Overbeck said detectives told him they had found blood in the boat.

Sheriff David Gee said his office has done all it can on these particular leads, but the investigation continues.

Michael Van Sickler, Times staff writer


http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article753797.ece


For more on Sabrina go to:

http://www.marvelcreations.com/sabri3.html

[packy]

http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020423&docId=l:827785762&start=16

Friday evening at the Pinellas County Jail, where he is being held on unrelated federal charges, Overbeck, 44, told Cohen he played no role in the baby's disappearance, Cohen said. Overbeck said he had followed the Aisenberg case when it first broke. As years passed without any answers regarding Sabrina's whereabouts, Overbeck said he began to wonder if a boat he had purchased without official paperwork from a woman in Valrico the week before the baby vanished might have played a role in the case.

The boat seemed like it had gotten an overhaul, Overbeck told Cohen. And he thought it had space enough at the front to hide a baby's body.

"Just a hunch," he said in his statement. "There's no fact to it."

Overbeck said he mentioned the possibility once to Tranquillo, Cohen's investigator.

"He told me I was crazy," Overbeck recalled.

Overbeck said in his statement that neither Tranquillo nor Cohen asked him to get rid of the body. He said he was "100,000 percent sure" that he never had anything to do with the baby at all. When Byron tried to imply those things in their cell, Overbeck said he mocked his suggestions.

Byron admitted during his statement Wednesday to Cohen that he had made assumptions regarding Cohen's and Tranquillo's involvement because of their later roles in the case.

Both men said detectives and Peluso seemed to have it out for Cohen and tried to put words in their mouths to support their theories. (more at link)

[Nut44x4]

Photos...

[emmeblu]

Photos...

Awe, she is so cute.

I was hoping that a real break had come in this case. I also hope that one day there will be justice for Sabrina.:1222423:

[LiveLaughLuv]

You know I watched about this case last night on Investigation Discovery, I was getting ready to post it but you guys are really on top of this.

I was outraged at the prosecutorial misconduct in this. How they wiretapped the Aisenberg's phone and made statements about what they were speaking about. They arrested this couple and everything the prosecutor did was unethical and made up. He told them the Aisenbergs were talking about the baby is buried and she died because of what you did, you were on cocaine and it's your fault she's dead, this is the wife telling the husband. All I heard was alot of static, whirring sounds could not make out anything that was said so how this prosecutor came up with those statements are beyond me. Even the judge had said, is this the best you've got?

He was suspended until it was looked into but is still a federal prosecutor from what they said at this episodes end.

[SaberGal]

You know I watched about this case last night on Investigation Discovery, I was getting ready to post it but you guys are really on top of this.

I was outraged at the prosecutorial misconduct in this. How they wiretapped the Aisenberg's phone and made statements about what they were speaking about. They arrested this couple and everything the prosecutor did was unethical and made up. He told them the Aisenbergs were talking about the baby is buried and she died because of what you did, you were on cocaine and it's your fault she's dead, this is the wife telling the husband. All I heard was alot of static, whirring sounds could not make out anything that was said so how this prosecutor came up with those statements are beyond me. Even the judge had said, is this the best you've got?

He was suspended until it was looked into but is still a federal prosecutor from what they said at this episodes end.

Yes, the misconduct in this case is just about one of the worst I have ever seen. They got Anthony Pellicano to do the majority of the dirty work but the prosecution was absolutely complicit in the attempted framing of the parents. I happen to believe that the Aisenberg's had nothing to do with Sabrina's disappearance but understand that others feel differently. I think most would agree, however, that it is never OK for LE/Prosecution to invent or manufacture evidence as they did in this case.

[sarahhod]

Felon who informed in Aisenberg case is sentenced to prison

http://www.tampabay.com/news/mobilehillsboroughnews/article969890.ece

By Kevin Graham (http://www.tampabay.com/writers/article380208.ece), Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, January 23, 2009
TAMPA — A felon who figured prominently last year in leads about the disappearance of baby Sabrina Aisenberg was sentenced Thursday to 37 months in federal prison on an unrelated weapons charge.
Scott Overbeck, 44, of Tampa pleaded guilty in October to being a felon in possession of a firearm or destructive device. Investigators found a commercial firework mortar shell with an 8-inch fuse and shotgun shells duct-taped around the shell's perimeter while searching Overbeck's home for drugs in December 2007.
Overbeck's name became intertwined with Sabrina's disappearance this summer, after the St. Petersburg Times first reported that felon Dennis Byron, a longtime friend of Overbeck's, told detectives that Overbeck said he disposed of Sabrina's remains. Overbeck has not been charged in the child's 1997 disappearance.
Sabrina remains missing.
In court on Thursday, Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich focused on Overbeck's criminal history. She outlined his arrests dating back two decades, which included multiple drunken driving arrests, aggravated assault, possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
"Mr. Overbeck, you've got a bad career," Kovachevich said. "This is the last chance you're getting."
Overbeck blamed his most recent run-ins with the law on his friendships over the past five years. He has said in court that it was a friend who built the improvised device as a joke.
"I forgot it was around," he told the judge.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Riedel called it a homemade bomb.
"He thought it wasn't really anything much more than a firework," David Secular, Overbeck's public defender, told the judge.
To which Kovachevich replied, "It's a good thing he doesn't celebrate on the Fourth of July."
Overbeck asked to serve his time near Wichita, Kan., to be close to his mother. He will receive credit for the 14 months he's already been in custody.
Reach Kevin Graham at kgraham@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3433.


[Last modified: Jan 23, 2009 12:22 AM]

[sarahhod]

Figure In Baby Sabrina Case Heading To Federal Prison

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jan/22/man-who-figured-baby-sabrina-case-sentenced-weapon/


By ELAINE SILVESTRINI (esilvestrini@tampatrib.com) | The Tampa Tribune
Published: January 22, 2009
TAMPA - A man who figured prominently last year in the investigation into the 1997 disappearance of Sabrina Aisenberg (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/sabrina-aisenberg/) was sentenced today to 37 months in federal prison (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/federal-prison/) on a weapons charge.
Scott Overbeck, 44, pleaded guilty in October to being a felon (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/felon/) in possession of an explosive device, a crime that doesn't require the offender to have any intent to use the device. Overbeck (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/overbeck/) has said he didn't plan to hurt anyone with the improvised explosive device (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/explosive-device/) investigators found in his bedroom.
U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich told Overbeck (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/overbeck/) it is time he straightened out his life after a 20-year record of crimes, including drug offenses (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/drug-offenses/) and assaulting police officers. One more crime, she said, and he would be "warehoused" in prison with no hope left.
Public defender David Secular said Overbeck (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/overbeck/) "has struggled with substance abuse difficulties throughout his life that he's never gotten appropriate treatment for." He said Overbeck (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/overbeck/) hopes to use his prison sentence (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/prison-sentence/) to get treatment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Riedel said the homemade bomb (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/homemade-bomb/) found in Overbeck's bedroom was extremely dangerous and had to be detonated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Agents described the device as being made with a 1 1/2- to 2-inch commercial fireworks mortar shell (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/mortar-shell/) with an 8-inch fuse and five skeet-loaded shotgun shells (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/shotgun-shells/) duct-taped to the perimeter. It also contained explosive powders.
"He thought it was of a much more benign character," Secular said. "He thought it was nothing more than a firecracker."
"It's a good thing he doesn't celebrate the Fourth of July," the judge said.
The Aisenberg investigation was in the news last summer amid reports Overbeck (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/overbeck/) had claimed he purchased a 12-foot boat from Sabrina's mother, Marlene, and speculated the boat once carried the body of the 5-month-old child, who disappeared from her Valrico home and has not been found.
A sheriff's office informant, Dennis Byron, reportedly said Overbeck (http://www2.tbo.com/topic/k/overbeck/) admitted chopping up the baby's body after Marlene Aisenberg killed the child in the boat.
Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

[annalyzer]

EXCLUSIVE: Aisenbergs finally speak out about new allegations regarding their daughter's dissappearance

http://www.abcactionnews.com/media/news/b/a/2/ba2aa407-a90d-4009-9f0e-1e934bf14665/Story.jpg
Sabrina Aisenberg ten years ago

Last Update: 5:36 pm

TAMPA, FL -- More than 7 months after a felon claimed Marlene Aisenberg not only had a hand in her daughter's disappearance but claimed the mother also took her child's life, the couple is finally speaking out.

Steve Aisenberg said the were outraged at the allegations and reverted once again to a very private life.

Speaking exclusively to ABC Action News by phone, Steve Aisenberg said, "It was ridiculous, we have no idea who the guys is. We never met him. We never heard of him until it was reported."

The Aisenbergs are talking about a convicted felon named Scott Overbeck.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office recorded hours of conversations between Overbeck and his cell mate Dennis Byron, a close friend and admitted drug buddy of Overbeck's who turned into an informant for the office.

"I have no idea (why he said those things) I think the guy wanted to cop a plea and apparently the police were willing to bite and he was able to get what he wanted and at our expense."

Byron said in a jail house interview that he was offered a plea, but he stands by his story. He was serving a 7 year sentence when he said he was approached.
"I didn't call the Sheriff's department. I didn't go to the Sheriff's department. They came to me. I was doing my time, minding my own business, ok? I didn't, I wasn't, I wasn't putting this out there. If I was putting this out there, I would have put it out there before sentencing. I would have put it out there back in September or October, whenever I could have dealt with the State Attorney to stop me from going to prison."

Byron has quite a story to tell. He claimed Overbeck told tales of how he disposed of 5-month old's Sabrina's body.

"Scott (Overbeck) told me that, that he was involved in the disposal of baby Sabrina Aisenberg,' Byron said. 'The bottom line was that he used crab traps to get rid of the baby. He cut the baby up and put the baby in crab traps. Mrs. Aisenberg basically, you know, shook the baby," Byron said. '

"They were out on the boat. They had been up partying all night long, shook the baby, killed the baby. Basically, he (Overbeck) went out to Valrico or Brandon and got the boat from out there at the Aisenbergs."

Steve Aisenberg said the family was so upset about the allegations, that is why they chose not to speak out until now.

"Once again it is another thing that is ridiculous, what angers us is that the authorities go on this."

"We never hear about the sightings (of our daughter) all we hear about is the sensationalism. It is very upsetting. That is why we decided to let our attorney handle these ridiculous allegations."

Shortly after Byron's claims surfaced, the sheriff's office released this statement: "Obviously some of our informants are more reliable and trustworthy than others. Nonetheless, regardless of the source, we are honor bound to lawfully investigate every viable lead"

Steve Aisenberg said, while this again paints his family in a negative light, that is not what angers him the most.

"I do not care how I look as long as people look for my daughter."

The Aisenbergs, who now live in Maryland, said since these new allegations surfaced they have maintained a very low profile. The Aisenbergs, who have two other children, said the priority became to shield them

"We are trying to do what we can and move on and make sure to protect them. it was another area of aggravation we had to deal with."

But, they feel there has been some progress in the past few months. While this upset the couple greatly, the case was once again in the forefront. Steve said a company out of England, Forever Searching has a new video of Sabrina on YouTube.

In the video, each of the family members write a personal note to the person they believe took their loved one. There are also intimate family photos, and age progression pictures of Sabrina.

Scott Overbeck is serving 37 months in federal prison on an unrelated weapons charge. He plead guilty in October to possession of a firearm or destructive device. Investigators said they found a mortar shell and shotgun shells while searching His home for drugs in December 2007. Overbeck has not been charged in Sabrina's disappearance and has not spoken out about alleged admission.

Byron's sentenced was reduced, but then he violated the terms of his probation. He is currently in prison.

The Case:

Sabrina vanished from her family's Valrico home in November of 1997. There was an extensive search and the 5 month old baby was never found. The Aisenbergs quickly fell into suspicion.

In 1999, the Aisenbergs were indicted, accused of lying about Sabrina's disappearance. They hired prominent Tampa attorney Barry Cohen to represent them.

The charges were later dropped when a magistrate tossed out audio recordings secretly made inside couple's home. They were also awarded more than $1 million to pay their legal fees.

Shortly after the Aisenbergs started a new life in Maryland. Mr. Cohen has maintained the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office did not do enough to find baby Sabrina who is still missing. She would be 12 years old.

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story/EXCLUSIVE-Aisenbergs-finally-speak-out-about-new/6UKqZF5w5EWpoq98iQTuXg.cspx

[nomadpatti]

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story/EXCLUSIVE-Aisenbergs-finally-speak-out-about-new/6UKqZF5w5EWpoq98iQTuXg.cspx

From link above:
"But, they feel there has been some progress in the past few months. While this upset the couple greatly, the case was once again in the forefront. Steve said a company out of England, Forever Searching has a new video of Sabrina on YouTube.

In the video, each of the family members write a personal note to the person they believe took their loved one. There are also intimate family photos, and age progression pictures of Sabrina."

I checked this out - beautifully done. It is hard to believe it was that long ago. I remember it vivdly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eV1tEPLjCQ

[nomadpatti]

I have no idea how I got that video posted, but there it is. I thought I was just putting in a link. :shrug1:

[packy]

No updates but some overview of the case and a timeline. http://www.abcactionnews.com/content/news/specialreports/aisenberg/default.aspx

[sarahhod]

Sabrina Aisenberg featured on Oprah show discussing missing children (videos, photos)

October 14, 12:46 PMhttp://image.examiner.com/img/greydot.gifTampa Crime Examiner (http://www.helpfindthemissing.org/x-7403-Tampa-Crime-Examiner)http://image.examiner.com/img/greydot.gifCharisse Van Horn

Sabrina Aisenberg case featured on Oprah Winfrey show
http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID7403/images/sabrina_aisenbert(1).jpg
Photo provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children


Yesterday, Oprah Winfrey spoke to the parents of Sabrina Aisenberg (John and Marlene Aisenberg), as part of a feature regarding missing children. John and Marlene Aisenberg were living in Valrico, Florida when their daughter, Sabrina, vanished from their home.

The date was November 24, 1997 and Sabrina was only 5 months old. From the beginning, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office placed the focus of their investigation on John and Marlene. An Amber Alert was never issued and no clues in the case have surfaced. The Aisenbergs appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show shortly after Sabrina’s disappearance as well.

Judging their initial reaction to the kidnapping, detectives felt that the Aisenbergs failed to show an appropriate amount of grief. This was evidenced by their concerns that the Aisenbergs were not expressing enough emotion over Sabrina’s disappearance. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office planted bugs in their home and recorded approximately 60 of their private conversations. Using information gathered from the recordings, the Aisenbergs were eventually arrested and charged. The charges did not last, however, and the Aisenbergs were cleared. Though great controversy surfaced regarding the case one thing is certain: Sabrina Paige Aisenberg is still missing, 12 years later.

The community did not believe the Aisenbergs and today, there are many who continue to believe that the parents had some involvement with Sabrina’s disappearance. In 2001, Marlene and Steve Aisenberg spoke with Larry King and described the events of that fateful night. Steve stated that they woke up in the morning and Marlene had discovered that Sabrina was gone. They were panicked, screaming, and called 911. Steve Aisenberg said that shortly after the police arrived they began to accuse Marlene of having done something to Sabrina. When asked by Larry King how long before deputies began to accuse her, Marlene said within hours of their arrival. The Aisenbergs had two additional children home at the time of Sabrina’s disappearance: William who was eight and Monica who was four.

Some believe that the Aisenberg case is an example of botched detective work and liken it to that of the Jon Benet Ramsey case. In the midst of the state’s case against the Aisenbergs, a judge ruled out the prosecutors evidence as junk and went so far as to say that investigators acted with reckless disregard for truth to obtain search warrants to place bugs in the Aisenberg home. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark A. Pizzo stated that lead detectives in the case deliberately omitted facts in the case and misled the judge who signed the warrants. Those who have heard the tapes state that they were garbled, unintelligible, and many experts state that there is nothing incriminating on the tapes or information that would indicate the Aisenbergs were guilty of any crime towards Sabrina.

http://www.examiner.com/x-7403-Tampa-Crime-Examiner~y2009m10d14-Sabrina-Aisenberg-featured-on-Oprah-show-discussing-missing-children-videos-photos

[Roamer]

I didn't realize it has been 12 years.

I remember exactly what she looked like as a darling little baby, when she was taken.

After I read about all the attorneys, I really felt bad. They had me convinced the Aisenberg's took her themselves.

[Dellia]

That Oprah Show was good. I see the parents innocent in this one. I'm betting Sabrina was took from her bed by a person who knew where her bedroom was.
Somebody may know her after looking at that new age progression picture. Amazing.

[gabby]

Sabrina is still listed as missing and I didn't find any updates to what was posted in October.

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PubCaseSearchServlet?act=viewChildDetail&caseNum=840605&orgPrefix=NCMC&seqNum=1&caseLang=en_US&searchLang=en_US

[Nut44x4]

Watching it now on Investigation Discovery...... unreal. I have never seen this before.

[packy]

Terrible what they went through.