A Long Island couple, both 38 years old, has been indicted on manslaughter charges for allegedly recklessly causing the drug overdose death of their 14-month-old son, who had fentanyl, cocaine and heroin in his body when he died.
Little Joseph Adonis was found dead on Jan. 3 inside the Holbrook home he shared with his parents and 11-year-old brother. Officers found the toddler in his parents' bedroom, unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Detectives responding to the home to conduct an investigation discovered narcotics and drug paraphernalia in the bedroom where the baby was found, according to court documents. A search warrant of the apartment yielded mixtures of heroin and fentanyl, cocaine, alprazolam, methadone, digital scales, a loaded shotgun and a rifle -- all of which were allegedly unsecured and easily accessible to the two children.
Joseph Adonis' DNA was allegedly found on one of several packages of drugs in the room.
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At the time, Joseph Adonis' parents, Wilkens Adonis and Daryllee Leibrick were arrested on possession of drugs and weapons charges, which the Suffolk County district attorney's office admits were the most severe charges that could be levied against them at that point. A later autopsy found Joseph Adonis' cause of death to be acute drug intoxication from a mixture of heroin, cocaine and fentanyl, according to the indictment. That prompted upgraded charges.
Joseph Adonis' parents were also arrested the day before the baby was born -- after drugs were allegedly found in a vehicle Daryllee Leibrick was driving, with Wilkens Adonis in the passenger seat. At the time of Joseph Adonis' death, the parents each allegedly had warrants for failure to appear on charges stemming from that 2022 traffic stop.
A judge ordered both defendants held on $500,000 cash or $1 million bond after their arraignments Monday.
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"How many more innocent children must die for change to be enacted?" Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement afterward. "It is well past the time for New York State legislators to wake up, put politics aside, and pass common-sense legislation related to fentanyl."
Joseph's father, Wilkens Adonis, previously pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him immediately following his son's death. An attorney for him said "he had nothing to hide" and allowed investigators to search his home.
The boy's mother, Daryllee Leibrock, also previously pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors said she told police she has a $50-a-day cocaine habit and admitted the cocaine found in the room was hers. At the time, her attorney said he looked forward to reviewing the evidence, noting the cases were still pending in district court.
