NYC day care owner, neighbour arrested after toddler dies and 3 others show signs of opioid exposure

NEW YORK -

The owner of a New York City day care centre and a tenant living in the building were arrested Saturday after a 1-year-old boy died and three other young children were sickened by what officials described as apparent exposure to opioids.

The arrests came one day after authorities discovered four young children -- ranging in age from 8 months to 2 years old -- showing signs of suspected opioid overdose after spending time at the Bronx day care centre, Divino Nino.

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Nicholas Dominici, a 1-year-old child, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Three others were revived after medics administered doses of the overdose-reversing drug Narcan, authorities said.

On Saturday evening, police arrested the owner of the facility, Grei Mendez, 36, and a building tenant, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, on charges of depraved indifference murder, assault and criminal possession of narcotics, including Fentanyl.

They are expected to be arraigned on Sunday.

Dominici's cause of death remains under investigation by the city's medical examiner.

Police say they found a kilo press -- a device used to package large quantities of drugs -- after executing a search warrant on the day care centre, a home-based operation that opened in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx earlier this year.

Nicholas' parents, Zoila Dominici and Otoniel Feliz, said their young child had started attending the centre only a week ago.

"He was so intelligent. He would repeat everything you would say to him," Dominici told the station. "He had so much love. Everyone who knew him appreciated him, all of our neighbours."

New York City, like much of the country, has seen rising levels of opioid-related deaths, with the vast majority of fatalities now attributed to Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be more than 50 times stronger than heroin.

At a press conference on Saturday, Mayor Eric Adams said Dominici's death underscored challenges the city faces in its fight against opioids.

"This crisis is real, and it is a real wakeup call for individuals who have opioids or fentanyl in their homes," Adams said. "The mere contact is deadly for an adult and it's extremely deadly for a child."

Studies have shown that young people are increasingly dying from unintentional drug overdoses, with opioids now the most common substances contributing to fatal poisonings among young children.

In instances where children were exposed to opioids, nearly all were found to have involved children who orally ingested the substance, rather than touching or inhaling it, according to a 2019 study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Authorities have not indicated how they believe the children came in contact with the drug.