2 People Charged in 1-Year-Old Daycare Opioid Exposure Murder

Grei Mendez, a day care center owner, and Acevedo Brito, a man living at the center’s address, were charged on Sunday for the murder of a one-year-old boy, who reportedly died from opioid exposure. Mendez and Brito have been charged for “depraved indifference” in the murder on four counts of endangering the welfare of a charge and 16 counts of assault and for the criminal possession of drugs. The one-year-old boy was one of three children found unconscious in the Bronx daycare center on Friday. Another boy also experienced an overdose and was taken to the hospital shortly after being picked up from the center. During a search of the center, a kilo press was found at the daycare center. The children’s symptoms aligned with overdose symptoms, causing police to become suspicious of an opioid exposure. Though the specific drug was unidentified, Mayor Adams commented on the fentanyl crisis at a briefing on Friday saying, “This crisis is real, and it is a real wake‑up call for individuals who have opioids or fentanyl in their homes.”