Joe Tacopina Ready to Defend Family Joe Tacopina Ready to Defend Family in Infant Disappearance Casein Infant Disappearance Case

•As the 2011 investigation into the disappearance of an infant intensified, the baby’s mother hired New York attorney Joe Tacopina to represent her. Deborah Bailey of Kansas City, the mother of Lisa Irwin, said she expected to be arrested in the case. Bailey admitted to passing out drunk after putting baby Lisa in her crib, and when the baby’s father came home at 4 a.m. after his shift at work, the crib was empty.

•As with many cases that Joseph Tacopina has represented, the case drew national attention. Legal experts said that bringing in an out-of-town lawyer could help Bailey, as Tacopina likely could better deal with the community’s anger at a crime against a child. Tacopina told a local news outlet that while he did not think Bailey would be charged, he was ready to defend her.

•By the second anniversary of Lisa’s disappearance, no one had been charged in the case. While Lisa has not been found, investigators have said she could be alive.