Baby Dies After Fentanyl Found at Bronx Nursery
A one-year-old boy, Nicholas Dominici, has died after being exposed to a deadly kilo of fentanyl hidden beneath nap mats at a Bronx nursery in New York City. Nicholas had only been at the nursery for a week before the tragedy.
Four Babies Poisoned in Drug Horror
Alongside Nicholas, an eight-month-old girl and two two-year-old boys also fell ill from fentanyl exposure. Emergency teams found the children unconscious and rushed them to hospital. Nicholas later died at Montefiore Medical Centre, while the others survived thanks to quick treatment with Narcan, an opioid antidote.
Nursery Operators Charged with Murder
The nursery, Divino Niño, run by Grei Mendez (36) and Carlisto Acevedo Brito (41), faced a police raid that uncovered drug paraphernalia including three kilogram press devices for packaging drugs. Both Mendez and Brito were arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter, assault, endangering children’s welfare, and drug possession.
“Defendants poisoned four babies and killed one of them because they were running a drug operation from a daycare centre. A daycare – a place where children should be safe, not surrounded by lethal drugs,” said Damian Williams, US Attorney for Southern District of New York.
Shock and Outrage in NYC
Mayor Eric Adams called the episode “total madness” but praised the emergency responders’ quick action. Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny confirmed the surviving children are now “doing fine.” Parents revealed Nicholas had just started at the nursery days before.
City health officials admitted childcare inspectors are not trained to spot fentanyl, despite a recent nursery inspection reporting no issues. The incident shines a harsh light on the opioid crisis gripping New York, and the dangerous reach of fentanyl into even the most unexpected places.
