The distraught mother whose one-year-old son died of a fentanyl overdose at a New York City daycare center said her child had only been attending the center for a week and that the community center had recommended them.
Nicholas Feliz-Dominici died Friday after the toddler ingested “fentanyl” at Divino Nino Day Care in the Bronx.
The grief-stricken parents – Zoila Dominici and Otoniel Feliz – said they were recommended by the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center. The daycare had only been in operation since January and was registered with the city’s Department of Children and Family Services.
The daycare owner, Grei Mendez De Ventura, 36, and her neighbor Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, were arrested Saturday and each faced 11 charges in the death of baby Nicholas.
A spokesperson for the Bronx District Attorney’s Office told DailyMail.com on Monday that the pair were arraigned on Sunday evening and are being held without bail.
Pictured: Nicholas Feliz-Dominici, the one-year-old boy who died after ingesting fentanyl at a Bronx daycare
The boy’s grief-stricken mother, Zoila Dominici, told CBS News in Spanish: “Look what happened. If I had known, I wouldn’t have brought him along.’
Divino Nino owner Grei Mendez De Ventura, 36, is seen Sunday following her arrest in the death of one-year-old Nicholas Feliz-Dominici. Dressed in a burnt orange sweater and blue jeans, I watched photographers outside the police station this morning
De Ventura’s neighbor Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, (pictured) kept his head down as he left NYC’s 52nd precinct after also being arrested in connection with the overdose
A week before baby Nicholas’ shock death, the center had undergone an inspection. The New York Post.
The boy’s devastated father said: “Apparently the place passed all inspections and supposedly that apartment was just for daycares, but the rumor is that from what we heard, they rented rooms too,” the news source said.
The boy’s sad mother told me CBS News in Spanish: ‘look what happened. If I had known, I wouldn’t have brought him along.’
Three other children exposed to the drugs remain in the hospital. Two of the children are siblings: a two-year-old boy, who is in critical condition, and his eight-month-old sister, whose condition is unknown.
Before the tragedy, Zoila said she was on a waiting list for her son to qualify for the home daycare, located on Morris Avenue in Kingsbridge, just a block from their home.
“We spoke to those in charge… They recommended that place and apparently followed all the rules.”
Her son’s first day was the first time she visited daycare and said she saw no red flags.
She described the room The New York Times as ‘cheerful, affordable’ and a place with ‘a good reputation’.
“I didn’t see anything that looked unusual,” she said. “Just little beds and toys.”
She remembered the daycare owner playing soothing music during nap time and she seemed responsible. She told her son was well accustomed to his new environment.
The mother of five, who works as a caregiver for the elderly, said Nicholas was her youngest.
His heartbroken mother called him “so intelligent and had so much love” and said he would have turned two in November.
“God gave him to me, and now he’s gone,” she said through tears. “I have to thank God for the time we had with him.”
The exterior of the drug-fueled daycare center that was housed in an apartment
Law enforcement sources believe the basement beneath the daycare where Brito lived was actually a drug front
Mendez De Ventura, 36, and Brito, De Ventura’s boyfriend, lived in the basement and spent $200 a week on rent, the Times reported.
The duo each face a litany of charges ranging from murder and manslaughter to causing serious injury and possession of narcotics.
De Ventura, wearing a burnt orange sweater and blue jeans, looked at photographers outside the police station on Sunday. Brito, wearing a gray ensemble and a baseball cap, bowed his head as the perpetrator walked.
The full list of charges against De Ventura and Brito includes: murder by depraved indifference, manslaughter of a person under 11 years of age, manslaughter recklessly causing death, four charges involving assault causing injury by risk of death, four charges involving assault causing injury during a crime, four counts of assault causing serious injury, and four counts of reckless assault causing serious injury.
They also face three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal possession of narcotics and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Law enforcement sources believe that the basement beneath the daycare where Brito lived was actually a front for drugs.
An NYPD spokesperson told DailyMail.com on Monday that they are still looking for De Venutra’s husband.He also lived with her next to the daycare center. Police believe he may also be involved in the deaths, the New York Post reported.
Police say the investigation is still ongoing.
the boy’s father said next When they enrolled their son, he and his wife were never allowed to enter the daycare center and their son was often brought to them by their caregivers, he alleged.
‘Parents are not allowed to enter. You see it the first day to see where your son will be, but after that you are not allowed to go in,” he claimed.
“They said they ‘don’t want any contamination from outside to come in because they keep everything clean,'” they said.
He revealed the poignant moment Otoniel and his wife heard the news, explaining that she had gone to pick up her son early from daycare.
When she arrived at the center’s police tape, emergency services and officers blocked the street. Her heart skipped a beat when she received a phone call that no parent ever wants to hear.
‘My wife called me and said our child is going to the hospital. We thought he was doing well. Ten minutes later my wife called me on the way to the hospital and said he had died,” he explained, fighting back tears.
All four were taken to hospital, but Nicholas did not survive.
The children had reportedly fallen in for a nap only to wake up at 2:30 p.m. and had eaten something about 90 minutes earlier, sources said.
When police arrived at the grim scene, all four children were administered Narcan, one of whom responded to the life-saving drug squad.
Police tape hung from the doorway of the building on Saturday as officers on the scene continued their investigation.
The childcare has a capacity for eight children aged from six weeks to twelve years, the data shows.