010500 BABY-SLAY FREEDOM FUROR
By FRANKIE EDOZIEN, NILES LATHEM and
GERSH KUNTZMAN
UNEQUAL TREATMENT:
Brian Peterson (above) arrives home with his
mother, Barbara Zuchowski, at the family's stately
Wyckoff, N.J., home, while Amy Grossberg (below)
serves the remainder of her baby-slay sentence.
- Above: D. Rentas Baby-killer Brian Peterson walked out of prison
yesterday into his mother's arms, provoking howls from
supporters of his still-jailed ex-girlfriend Amy
Grossberg -- who say he sold her out.
Peterson, 21, was released from Webb Correctional
Facility in Price's Corner, Del., after serving 20
months of a two-year manslaughter sentence stemming from
his and Grossberg's killing of their newborn baby in a
Newark, Del., motel room when they were both college
freshmen in 1996.
Both were initially charged with capital murder, but the
pair eventually pleaded guilty to reduced charges of
manslaughter. Peterson, who cooperated with prosecutors,
got a two-year sentence, while Grossberg got 21/2 years. Grossberg, 21, remains in prison -- a source of anger
among her supporters.
"Brian Peterson sold his soul to get a good deal from
the prosecutors," said Grossberg lawyer Robert
Tanenbaum. "He lied to prosecutors and blamed her for
what happened. He did it to save his own neck. That's
why he was released and she remains in jail."
Grossberg is expected to be released in May.
"We had hoped for parity in sentencing, but, well, she's
still in jail and he's out," added John Malik, another
of Grossberg's lawyers.
"There was a betrayal of Amy by Brian. We don't accept
that he was truthful to prosecutors about what happened
in that hotel room."
Peterson lawyer Jack Litman called Grossberg's lawyers
"revisionists [who] want to change the course of
history."
"It was Amy who cut off communication with Brian and
then went on Barbara Walters and said it was all Brian's
fault," Litman said. "That caused the rift. We felt that
their cases should have been handled together."
Peterson left prison nine days early because of good
behavior. State corrections spokeswoman Elizabeth Welch
described him as a "model inmate" who helped other
prisoners earn their equivalency diplomas.
Peterson left the bleak jailhouse in the arms of his
mother, Barbara Zuchowski, and immediately headed north
on the New Jersey Turnpike in a gold-colored Lexus SUV
toward the family's stately Wyckoff, N.J., home.
Litman and co-counsel Russell Gioiella were waiting at
the home when Peterson arrived. He immediately played
with his cat, Princess, Litman said.
An hour later, the group emerged and Peterson apologized
for "my part in the tragic events that occurred three
years ago."
"I am very happy to be home with my family and loved
ones, and I look forward to resuming my life," he said,
reading a statement that had been handed out in front of
the prison earlier.
"I can assure everyone that I will reward their
confidence in me and make them proud of me in the
future."
As a condition of his two-year probation, Peterson must
perform 300 hours of community service. Litman said his
client wants to counsel young adults on "the
responsibilities of being a father."
Litman said the details were still being worked out.
"He wants to talk to people face to face on a one-on-one
basis," Litman said. "Brian never left Amy. Most of the
time [in unwanted pregnancies], the girl is all alone.
The lesson here is that ... you have to talk to your
parents if you're in trouble."
Litman said Peterson, who took some college courses
while in prison, would go back to school "and make
everyone proud of him."
Peterson did not take questions from reporters.
"He's definitely disoriented," explained Joe Hurley,
another Peterson lawyer. "He can't believe he's out. He
said that when they opened the door [to the prison], he
actually hesitated."
Hurley said that Peterson -- who did not write to or
contact Grossberg while in prison -- no longer has
feelings for his high-school sweetheart.
"Water has passed over the dam and whatever existed does
not anymore," Hurley said.
That hardly matters to Grossberg, Tanenbaum said.
"She's had no contact with him and doesn't want any," he
said. "When she gets out, she'll want to get on with her
life and go back to school." Return to Mothers who murdered their children