ALBANY — Expanding the scope of parental responsibility beyond the traditional family, the Court of Appeals yesterday refused to dismiss a child endangerment charge against a Manhattan woman who stood by while her husband beat his 3-year-old daughter to death.
Defendant Lisa Carroll was neither the biological mother nor legal guardian of the girl, but Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye wrote, “It would be incongruous for biological parents and guardians, but not a stepmother who assumes the primary caretaking role during the child’s visits, to be liable for endangering the welfare of a child.”
