What to Know
- The woman who operated a Bronx day care center where a 1-year-old child died of an opioid overdose deleted more than 21,000 encrypted messages to her husband after infant's death, according to court documents
- Grei Mendez and Carlisto Acevedo Brito, who rented a room inside the Kingsbridge apartment where the day care was operated, were hit with two federal charges on Tuesday, a criminal complaint read.
- The charges come 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 center, Divino Niño.
A search warrant led police detectives to a new discovery in the ongoing investigation of the Bronx day care center where a 1-year-old child died of an opioid overdose: a floor trap door of drugs.
Crime scene detectives returned to the Kingsbridge building on Wednesday where the NYPD found a trap door beneath the floor where kids slept. Underneath a wooden trap door several feet wide in each direction, police shared photos of the fentanyl, other narcotics and paraphernalia found inside.
"We have evidence to show that it was more than just a daycare center. It's clear that there was a drug operation that was happening there," Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said.
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A grand jury in the Bronx has indicted Grei Mendez and Carlisto Acevedo Brito on murder charges. They rented a room inside the building where the day care was operated.
"We're going to have a date coming up within the next week or so where we'll unseal the indictment, and then I'll be able to talk to all the particulars about what happened in the particular case. So the investigation continues, even the recovery of evidence," Clark continued.
Neither Mendez, 33, and Brito, 41, appeared in court before a judge on Wednesday. The two suspects remain at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn after being charged last week on federal narcotics possession charges.
The hidden treasure trove of illicit drugs and accompanying contraband were found in addition to the one kilogram of fentanyl recovered from inside a closet next to stacked mats that children napped on, law enforcement officials have said.
The fentanyl is believed to have sickened four children, including Dominici, who died Friday afternoon. Three others — ranging in age from 8 months to 2 years old — were hospitalized.
The approximately one kilogram of fentanyl, which was recovered inside a taped package that contained several thousand dollars worth of the deadly drug, was found in a closet next to stacked mats that children napped on, law enforcement said.
Mendez has maintained she had no knowledge of the presence of the highly-potent opioid, which sickened three other young children, including an 8-month-old girl who tested positive for fentanyl use.
Along with the fentanyl, police said they also found two press devices used to combine the drug with other narcotics. Both the drugs and one of the devices were inside the hallway closet connected to an apartment Brito was said to be staying in. A second press was located inside the adjoining room occupied by Brito, according to a criminal complaint.
Mendez told police that she thoroughly cleaned the day care, Divino Niño, six days a week and that the kilo press found at the scene could have been left there by a prior tenant, the court documents state. She also said there had been no other visitors to the day care on Friday — even though her husband was seen on surveillance footage carrying bags out of the day care just minutes before first responders arrived, as well as earlier in the day, the federal complaint stated.
Prosecutors said that Mendez made three phone calls before dialing 911, including one to another day care employee and two to her husband, as they allegedly "tried to cover up" what happened. Then after police were called, Mendez allegedly made several more phone calls to her husband. Her husband came to the apartment, stayed for about two minutes, then left out a back alleyway carrying two full shopping bags, court documents state — all while the children were unresponsive and waiting on medical care.
The day care facility opened in Jan. 2023. It passed both of its inspections, authorities said, including a surprise visit made by inspectors earlier this month.
