Daycare owner charged with murder of 1-year-old boy who overdosed on fentanyl
A daycare owner has been charged with murder after a 1-year-old boy was killed from ingesting fentanyl.
Grei Mendez, the owner of the Divino Niño Daycare Center in the Bronx, was arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter, assault, drug possession, and child endangerment after the tragic death that occurred at her facility.
Carlos Acevedo Brito, a 41-year-old man who lived with Mendez, faces the same set of charges.
New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Edward Caban called the incident ‘every parent’s worst nightmare.’
‘We should not be here,’ Caban said at a press conference on Saturday night. ‘These children do not deserve this. Please pray for them and their families.’
First responders received a 911 call from the daycare around 2.40pm on Saturday, September 16.
Police found three unresponsive children at the daycare – two boys, ages 1 and 2, and an 8-month-old girl.
All three children were ‘demonstrating symptoms of opioid exposure,’ said NYPD Assistant Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
Paramedics administered Narcan to the children and rushed them to Montefiore Hospital. Two of the children, one of the boys and the 8-month-old girl, survived the incident.
As of Monday, the girl is in stable condition, while the boy remains in critical condition.
The third child, 1-year-old Nicholas Feliz-Dominici, was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
Police later found out a fourth child, another 2-year-old male, experienced similar symptoms after his mother picked him up around 12.15pm the same day.
‘Once home, the child’s mother noticed that the kid was acting lethargic and unresponsive,’ Kenney said. ‘He was brought to Bronx Care Hospital where he was administered Narcan, and his life was saved.’
After a search of the facility, police found a package containing one kilogram of the dangerous synthetic opioid, as well as several thousand dollars in cash.
They also found a kilo press, which Detective Kenny said is ‘an item that is commonly used by drug dealers when packaging large quantities of drugs.’
Divino Niño was a licensed daycare facility that only opened in January of 2023. The center passed its most recent inspection, which occurred just one week earlier on September 9.
The most recent inspection was a surprise visit, and inspectors found no violations at the time.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the incident serves as a warning to opioid users with young children.
‘This can have an impact on your family and an impact on your children,’ Adams said.
Dr Ashwin Vasan, commissioner of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, said that fentanyl can affect children by inhalation, ingestion, or even exposure to a child’s skin.
‘We don’t know exactly what happened in this case,’ Vasan said. ‘What it tells us is that the overdose crisis affects all of us.’
‘This is a real wakeup call for individuals who have opioids or fentanyl in their homes,’ Mayor Adams said. ‘Mere contact is deadly for an adult, and is extremely deadly for a child.’
An investigation into how the children ingested the dangerous drug is still ongoing.
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