A New York mother has been charged with murder five months after her 1-year-old son reportedly died after ingesting a potent combination of heroin and fentanyl which was intended for sale.
Jailed since January on drug charges, Daira Santana-Gonzalez, 23, was criminally charged Friday for the December 28 death of Darwin Gonzalez-Santana. Citing the coroner’s notes from April, the New York Post reported that the toddler boy had traces of “acute fentanyl, acetylfentanyl, heroin, dextromethorphan, and chlorpheniramine intoxication” in his body when he died.
According to the New York Daily News, the Bronx apartment was used to package various drugs, including cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl. The toddler’s father, Antonio Modesto Gonzalez—who remains on the run—allegedly left drugs and empty envelopes used to package them at the residence.
Gonzalez and his cousin were reportedly at the apartment when Santana-Gonzalez came home from a 12-hour restaurant shift and went to sleep. The following morning, Santana-Gonzalez reportedly woke to find her son unresponsive in his bed.
“I didn’t know he was doing this,” Sanatana-Gonzalez said of her husband’s alleged narcotics ring. “I don’t know if he was selling drugs or about to start making drugs…It wasn’t my stuff, and he was always there.”
The late toddler’s mother is due to appear in court on June 6 regarding the drug charges.
[Featured image: Daira Santana-Gonzalez, Darwin Gonzalez-Santana/Facebook]