[3] Izquierdo was a six-year-old Puerto Rican–Cuban-American girl[2] who died of a brain hemorrhage[2] inflicted by her mother, Awilda Lopez, at the peak of a prolonged and escalating campaign of physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse conducted between 1994 and 1995.

[6] Elisa has been referred to as a modern-day Cinderella because she had at first been under the protection of a loving father and had befriended Prince Michael of Greece⁠‍—‍who had offered to pay for her private tuition until 12th grade‍—‍before being placed into the permanent custody of her mother.

Her father, Gustavo, was a Cuban immigrant who had emigrated to the United States with aspirations to become a dance teacher;[9] whereas her mother, Awilda, was of Puerto Rican descent.

The couple met at a Fort Greene homeless shelter two years prior to Elisa's birth, where Gustavo worked part-time as a cleaner and caterer.

[8][11] When Elisa was born, she was addicted to crack cocaine, requiring social workers to immediately notify the city's child welfare administration services as to her condition.

[13] As a result of her mother's evident addiction, full custody of Elisa was awarded to her father, Gustavo,[8] who despite having no prior parenting experience was, by all accounts, a doting, caring father to Elisa‍—‍attending parenting classes,[14] seeking advice from relatives as to how to care for his daughter, organizing celebrations for her first birthdays, and renting a banquet hall to celebrate her baptism at age four.

"[16] In 1990, Gustavo enrolled his daughter in the Montessori preschool, although shortly thereafter, his incipient ailing health complicated his ability to pay for Elisa's schooling.

Both Elisa's father and her teachers noted the child bore bruising and other signs of physical mistreatment when she returned from these unsupervised visits.

Her father also noted that Elisa had begun bedwetting in addition to losing control of her bowels, and would regularly experience nightmares upon learning she was to be in the custody of her mother for even short periods of time.

[26] Furthermore, in his letter to Judge Greenbaum, Prince Michael of Greece emphasized his intentions to pay for Elisa's education at Brooklyn Friends School should Elsa Canizares be awarded custody of the child.

According to Elsa Canizares, at this hearing, the legal representatives for Awilda testified as to her "valiant efforts" to refrain from relapsing into drug use, falsely claiming that caseworkers had visited the Lopez residence and that Elisa had expressed a strong desire to live with her biological mother.

The principal of this school also noted that Elisa bore numerous bruises, walked with apparent difficulty, and had evidently begun tearing out sections of her hair.

The author of this letter stated that Awilda Lopez had cut off much of Elisa's hair and had begun locking her in a dark room for extensive periods of time.

Other indignities and abuse inflicted by Awilda upon her daughter (some of which were witnessed by Elisa's siblings) included repeated punching and kicking,[36] forcing the child to eat her own feces or drink ammoniated water,[34] mopping the floor with Elisa's head and face,[37] inflicting burns upon the child's head, face, lips, and body, sexually violating her both vaginally and anally with a hairbrush or toothbrush, hanging her from a shower rod for the purpose of entertainment,[38] and dropping a chest of drawers on her ring finger and toe.

[7][n 6] Awilda's partner, Carlos Lopez (himself also a regular user of drugs) is also known to have repeatedly physically abused and neglected Elisa and her two older siblings.

[7] The service was officiated by the Reverend Gianni Agostinelli, who informed the estimated 300 mourners in attendance that Elisa had been murdered not only by her own mother, but by the "silence of many, by the neglect of child-welfare institutions and the moral mediocrity that has intoxicated our neighborhoods".

Those present at Elisa's wake and funeral included relatives, neighbors, politicians, Prince Michael of Greece,[19] and members of the public touched by the case.

Many mourners placed additional flowers, toys, stuffed animals and notes of sympathy in and upon her coffin prior to her casket being closed and her burial at Cypress Hills Cemetery.

"[49] On June 25, 1996, Awilda Lopez pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of her daughter in a hearing held before Judge Alvin Schlesinger at the New York's State Supreme Court.

[50][51] Upon the advice of her attorney, Daniel Ollen, she pleaded guilty to this deal offered by the prosecution team with the knowledge she would become eligible for parole after serving 15 years' imprisonment.

[53] Prior to formal sentencing, Schlesinger openly criticized the child welfare system within New York, stating: "We have not created procedures to do everything necessary to protect the young and vulnerable in this society.

This sentence was in relation to one specific instance of physical abuse dating from October 31, 1995, in which he had repeatedly banged Elisa's head against a concrete wall in the presence of her siblings.

[62] Elisa's Law continues to hold the child welfare agency of New York City and the Administration for Children's Services (ACS) publicly accountable for its performance.

Reportedly, all suffered acute psychological trauma due to the acts of extreme physical, mental, and sexual abuse they had been forced to witness inflicted upon their sister.