What to know
The woman who operated a Bronx daycare where a 1-year-old boy died of an opioid overdose deleted more than 21,000 encrypted messages to her husband after the baby’s death, according to court documents. Grei Méndez and Carlisto Acevedo Brito, who rented a room inside the Kingsbridge apartment where the daycare operated, were charged with two federal charges on Tuesday, according to a criminal complaint. The charges come after authorities discovered that four young children, ages 8 months and 2 years old, showed signs of suspected opioid overdose after spending time at the Divino Niño daycare in the Bronx.
NEW YORK — A search warrant led police detectives to a new discovery in the ongoing investigation of the Bronx daycare where a 1-year-old boy died of an opioid overdose: a drug hatch in the floor .
Crime scene detectives returned to the building in Kingsbridge on Wednesday, where the NYPD found a trapdoor under the floor where the children were sleeping. Beneath a wooden hatch several feet wide in each direction, police shared photos of the fentanyl, other narcotics and paraphernalia found inside.
“We have evidence that shows it was more than just a daycare. It’s clear there was a drug operation going on there,” said Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.
A Bronx grand jury indicted Grei Méndez and Carlisto Acevedo Brito for murder. They rented a room inside the building where the daycare operated.
“We are going to have a date within the next week where we will open the indictment and then I will be able to talk in full detail about what happened in the particular case. So the investigation continues, including the recovery of evidence,” Clark continued .
Neither Méndez, 33, nor Brito, 41, appeared before a judge Wednesday. The two suspects remain in the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center after being indicted last week on federal narcotics possession charges.
The treasure trove of illicit drugs and accompanying contraband were found in addition to the kilogram of fentanyl recovered from inside a closet next to stacked mats on which children were napping, law enforcement officials said.
The fentanyl is believed to have sickened four children, including Dominici, who died Friday afternoon. Three others, aged between 8 months and 2 years, were hospitalized.
About a kilogram of fentanyl, which was recovered inside a taped package containing several thousand dollars’ worth of the deadly drug, was found in a closet next to stacked mats on which children were napping, authorities said.
Mendez has maintained that he had no knowledge of the presence of the highly potent opioid, which sickened three other young children, including an 8-month-old girl who tested positive for fentanyl use.
Along with the fentanyl, police said they also found two press devices used to combine the drug with other narcotics. Both the drugs and one of the devices were inside a hallway closet connected to an apartment where Brito was said to be staying. According to a criminal complaint, a second press was located inside the adjacent room occupied by Brito.
Mendez told police he thoroughly cleaned the daycare, Divino Niño, six days a week and that a previous tenant may have left the one-kilogram press found there, according to court documents. She also said there had been no other visitors at the daycare on Friday, even though her husband was seen on surveillance footage taking bags out of the daycare minutes before first responders arrived, as well as earlier in the day, according to the federal complaint.
Prosecutors said Mendez made three phone calls before dialing 911, including one to another daycare employee and two to her husband, as they allegedly “tried to cover up” what happened. Then, after police were called, Mendez allegedly made several more phone calls to her husband. Her husband arrived at the apartment, stayed for about two minutes and then walked out into an alley with two full shopping bags, court documents state, all while the children were unconscious and awaiting medical attention.
The daycare opened in January 2023. It passed both inspections, officials said, including a surprise visit by inspectors earlier this month.
2023-09-22 01:44:27
#Detectives #find #fentanyl #hidden #NYC #daycare #baby #overdosed
