Bronx Divino Niño daycare owner was arrested on Saturday, September 17, after 1-year-old infant Nicholas Dominici died from apparent opioid poisoning on her watch.
Divino Niño daycare owner Grei Mendez, 36, was arrested and charged alongside one of Mendez’s tenants, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, after an infant, Nicholas Dominici, died and three other children were hospitalized over fentanyl poisoning.
The NYPD said that Nicholas and the three other children—an eight-month-old girl and a pair of two-year-old boys—fell ill on Friday, September 15, after they were exposed to the opioids at the daycare center while on Grei Mendez’s watch.
First responders who were called to the scene found the children unresponsive and showing signs of opioid exposure. The responders tried to revive the children after giving them the opioid poisoning antidote Narcan. However, 1-year-old Nicholas did not survive. Meanwhile, the three other children were rushed to a hospital where they are recovering from fentanyl poisoning.
Nicholas Dominici's family speaks out in the wake of infant's opioid-related death
Divino Niño daycare owner Grei Mendez and Carlisto Acevedo Brito are accused of murder, manslaughter, assault, and various drug charges after 1-year Nicholas Dominici died from fentanyl poisoning at the premises on Friday, September 15.
Authorities said that they discovered a kilo press—an item used to package drugs—when they searched the Divino Niño daycare, which was run out of a private home.
In an interview with CBS Nicholas’s devastated parents, Zoila Dominici and Otoniel Feliz, said the infant had just started at the daycare one week earlier.
"He was so intelligent. He would repeat everything you would say to him. He had so much love. Everyone who knew him appreciated him, all of our neighbors.”
The parents said that the daycare, which had reportedly recently passed a surprise city inspection, was recommended by Kingsbridge Heights Community Center.
"We spoke to the ones who are in charge ... They recommended that place and apparently complied with all of the rules. We were on a waitlist for our son to qualify. Apparently, the place passed all of the inspections. Supposedly that apartment was only for day cares, but the rumor is, from what we have heard, they also rented rooms."
CBS reported that the center was registered under the city's Department of Children and Family Services and had been open since January 2023.
Zoila Dominici and Otoniel Feliz, grappling with the immeasurable loss, said that Nicholas Dominici was the youngest of their five children and would have celebrated his second birthday in November.
In a press conference on Sunday, New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, deplored the ongoing opioid crisis plaguing the country.
“This crisis is real, and it is a real wake‑up call for individuals who have opioids or fentanyl in their homes,” Adams said, according to the Associated Press. “The mere contact is deadly for an adult and it’s extremely deadly for a child.”
While authorities continue to investigate the case, they have yet to disclose how the children encountered the drugs at the daycare.