What to Know
- Five-year-old Michael Guzman was found unresponsive at his Jamaica, Queens, home in January 2017; he was pronounced dead at a hospital
- His parents were questioned by police at the time but not arrested; the medical examiner's officer later ruled the boy's death a homicide
- The official cause of death was seizure medication overdose, officials have said; the boy's mother, Phyllis Reinoso, now faces charges
The 31-year-old mother of a 5-year-old boy who died of an overdose of seizure medication in his Queens home more than a year ago has been arrested on a litany of charges, including manslaughter, in the child's death, authorities say.
Michael Guzman, who was known to have chronic seizures, was found dead by his parents on a Sunday night in January 2017 after the couple returned from a night out. They had left Guzman and their other five children home alone.
Cops questioned the mother, Phyllis Reinoso, and the father in the aftermath of the boy's death, but they were never arrested. Nearly a full year after Guzman died, the medical examiner's office ruled the case a homicide -- and cops once again were looking to question Reinoso. But it wasn't clear where she was.
Reinoso was arrested early Thursday in Staten Island on charges of manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment, failure to exercise control of a minor and acting in a manner injurious to a child younger than 17.
The details of the criminal complaint weren't exactly clear. Police said there have been a number of child abuse complaints at the 109th Avenue home where Guzman was found in a bedroom that Sunday -- Jan. 22, 2017.
A spokesperson for the Administration for Children's Services said at the time that the agency was "saddened by this troubling news and are investigating the circumstances leading to this child fatality, along with the NYPD."
It wasn't immediately clear if Reinoso had an attorney who could comment on the allegations.
