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The natural mother of a little girl allegedly beaten to death by her adoptive father said she gave him $500 to find a Roman Catholic home for the baby, but when a family refused to pay him $50,000, he kept the child, the woman's lawyer said.
Michelle Launders, 26, said she only saw the baby for "20 seconds" before the baby apparently was handed over to Joel Steinberg. She identified Steinberg, a criminal defense lawyer, from a newspaper photograph at a marathon hearing at which she was granted the right to bury 6-year-old Elizabeth Steinberg.
Launders said she gave birth May 14, 1981, after meeting with Steinberg, who told her "I didn't have to worry about anything."
She was referred...