THE KEY WITNESS: HEDDA NUSSBAUM
Hedda Nussbaum was born in 1942. She graduated from New York's Hunter College in the 1970s. She became a public school teacher until September 1974 when she got a job at a Manhattan publisher, Random House.
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Nussbaum's first book, Plants Do Amazing Things, was published in 1977 and was well received. She had met Joel Steinberg two years prior and they soon became romantically involved. According to her co-workers, Nussbaum had a promising future. One of her co-workers said that she was "sensitive, extremely gentle and loving." An executive from her company also told New York Times that Nussbaum was "very attractive as a prospective employee." Nussbaum had a good career ahead of her, but all of that disappeared when Steinberg's abuse began.
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According to Nussbaum, Steinber first hit her in 1978 but she chose to ignore the violence. She said that she hoped Steinberg would change and that the beatings would stop, but it only became worse. By 1981, Nussbaum was fired from her job due to repeated absences caused by the physical abuse. Over the next few years, Nussbaum has suffered great injuries from Steinberg's abuse such as black eyes, broken bones, broken teeth, a fractured nose, burns, and beatings--all of which were detailed on Steinberg's trial.