Baby Dead, 3 Others Taken To Hospital After Alleged Fentanyl Exposure At NYC Day Care
A man and a woman have been taken into custody on charges of murder after a 1-year-old child died and three other children were hospitalized, suspected of being exposed to opioids at a Bronx daycare center on Friday, as reported by the police.
Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, and Grei Mendez, 36, were arrested on Saturday night and are facing multiple charges, including murder, manslaughter, assault, criminal possession of a controlled substance, narcotic drug, and endangering the welfare of a child. The charges stem from the death of Nicholas Dominici and the hospitalization of three other children following their exposure to fentanyl at the daycare center.
The exact connection between Brito, Mendez, and the daycare center remains unclear.
The New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner is investigating the cause and manner of Nicholas’s death.
According to the police, the 911 call was made just after 2:40 p.m. on Friday. Upon arrival, officers found Dominici unconscious and unresponsive, and he was pronounced dead upon arrival at Montefiore Medical Center.
Additionally, an unconscious 2-year-old boy and an 8-month-old girl were discovered at the scene and were transported to Montefiore; the boy is in critical condition, while the girl is in stable condition, according to the police.
A third child, a 2-year-old boy, was hospitalized at BronxCare Health System, where he is now in stable condition. Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny of the New York Police Department told reporters that the mother of the third child personally took him to the hospital after picking him up from the daycare center around 12:15 p.m. that day. She noticed that he was “acting lethargic and unresponsive” once they returned home. At the hospital, Narcan, the opioid overdose antidote, was administered to save the boy’s life.
During the execution of a search warrant at the daycare, NYPD officials discovered a “kilo press,” which Kenny described as an item “commonly used by drug dealers when packaging large quantities of drugs.”
The daycare center was licensed by the state and underwent its last inspection by officials from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on September 9, according to Kenny and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Ashwin Vasan. Vasan emphasized that no violations were found during that inspection, which was conducted as a surprise without prior notice to the daycare officials.
Vasan further clarified that the daycare center operated as a home-based facility and began its operations in January. It had undergone two routine inspections early on to secure its license.
The investigation is ongoing.
