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Express Tribune
04-03-2025
- Express Tribune
Daycare owner gets 45 years for toddler's fentanyl death, mother outraged
Listen to article The owner of a Bronx daycare where a 1-year-old boy died from fentanyl exposure was sentenced to 45 years in prison, as the child's devastated mother confronted her in court, saying she could never forgive her. Grei Mendez, 37, the owner of Divino Niño Daycare, trembled in Manhattan federal court as she faced Zoila Dominici, the mother of Nicholas Feliz Dominici, who died in September 2023 after ingesting fentanyl hidden under floor tiles where children played and napped. 'It is not possible to forgive something like this,' Dominici told the court. 'Forty-five years is not enough.' Mendez, who pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death, avoided eye contact with Dominici, whose voice broke as she declared she would never forgive her. "Let God forgive you," she said. Mendez Failed to Administer Narcan, Withheld Crucial Information Prosecutors revealed that despite having Narcan, a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, in the daycare's medicine cabinet, Mendez never attempted to use it as Nicholas lay unresponsive. Federal prosecutor Maggie Lynaugh said Mendez had 'the key to helping these children, and she didn't use it.' When first responders arrived, Mendez failed to tell them the children may have been suffering from an opioid overdose, even as Nicholas was found lifeless, with blue lips and no pulse, according to court records. Three other children, all under the age of 3, were hospitalized after also being poisoned by the fentanyl stored beneath the playroom's floor tiles. Mendez lied repeatedly about Drugs in the daycare Court records show Mendez and her husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, ran a drug operation from the daycare, where authorities later discovered 11 kilograms of fentanyl and other narcotics. Despite overwhelming evidence, Mendez lied repeatedly to investigators, claiming to know nothing about the drugs. She initially suggested the children may have suffered from a gas leak or carbon monoxide poisoning. 'Do you think I don't know the danger there?' Mendez told investigators at the time, according to court documents. 'I know how dangerous that is. I'm not stupid. I watch the news. I know that stuff kills.' Mother breaks down as prosecutors detail son's final moments During Monday's sentencing, Dominici sobbed in the courtroom gallery as prosecutors recounted her son's final moments. Her husband, Otoniel Feliz, also addressed the court, saying Mendez 'let my son die' and 'didn't do anything' to save him. 'We didn't just lose Nicholas. We lost our life,' Feliz said. Speaking softly through a Spanish interpreter, Mendez insisted the children's poisoning was an accident. 'It was never my intention,' she told the court. 'Believe me, this has left me traumatized. I cannot erase this from my mind.' Judge: Mendez prioritized fear over saving a life US District Judge Jed Rakoff said Mendez deserved the same 45-year sentence as her husband, as they shared equal responsibility in operating the drug mill that led to Nicholas's death. However, he criticised her failure to act, saying that while her fear of prosecution was understandable, it was not defensible. "You prioritised your own fear over the opportunity to save a life," Rakoff told her. When the sentence was announced, Mendez's head sank into her arms at the defense table, while her relatives and Nicholas's family broke into loud sobs.
Fox News
04-03-2025
- Fox News
Former NYC daycare owner learns fate following toddler's fentanyl poisoning death
A former Bronx, New York daycare owner has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after a toddler died in her care from ingesting fentanyl in September 2023. The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced on Monday that Grei Mendez pleaded guilty in October to charges including conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death. The charges stem from the death of 22-month-old Nicholas Dominici, who was exposed to fentanyl at the daycare. Three other children also suffered serious injuries and had to be hospitalized after authorities found two 2-year-old boys and an 8-month-old girl, who were unresponsive, in the basement of the Bronx daycare facility. The mother of Dominici, Zoila Dominici, confronted Mendez in court and "she'd never forgive her" for what she let happen to her son, the New York Post reported. "It is not possible to forgive something like this. Forty-five years is not enough," Dominici said during an emotional testimony. "I do not forgive you. Let God forgive you," Dominici continued. During pre-sentencing, it was revealed in a court filing that Mendez had Narcan kits at the daycare, but did not attempt to revive the children, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District. "She had the key to helping these children, and she didn't use it," Maggie Lynaugh, a federal prosecutor, said in court Monday. When first responders arrived, Mendez failed to mention that the kids could be suffering from an opioid overdose, the complaint read. "Grei Mendez operated a daycare out of a basement apartment in the Bronx in which large quantities of deadly fentanyl were mixed, packaged, and stored," Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. "She put babies as young as eight months old directly in harm's way as they slept, played, and ate in a room where over 11 kilograms of fentanyl was hidden underneath their feet, leading to the death of one child and the poisoning of others." According to the complaint, the indictment, and other documents, from around June 2022 through September 2023, Mendez and others conspired to distribute narcotics out of Divino Niño Daycare in the Bronx. Officials said Mendez and her co-conspirators maintained more than 11 kilograms of fentanyl and heroin in secret compartments, or traps, located underneath the floor tiles in the playroom of the daycare. The outlet reported that Dominici burst into tears in the courtroom as prosecutors recalled her son's final moments. When asked to address the court, Otoniel Feliz, Dominici's husband, said, "She let my only son die. She didn't do anything." "We didn't just lose Nicholas. We lost our life," Feliz added. The outlet reported that Mendez told the court that "it was never my intention" for the children to be poisoned. "I do want all to know it was an accident," Mendez said, while using a Spanish interpreter. She then claimed to "know the suffering" that the Dominici's were feeling, as she is a mother herself and is being locked away from four children of her own. "Believe me, this has left me traumatized," Mendez said. "I cannot erase this from my mind." One of the conspirators, Mendez's husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, was arrested in September 2023 in Sinaloa, where Mexico's Sinaloa drug trafficking cartel, once run by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, is based. The other conspirators arrested included 38-year-old Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, also known as "El Gallo," and Mendez's neighbor, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, who were both charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death. Brito, like Mendez, was also charged with narcotics distribution resulting in death. "No punishment can make up for a child lost, but today's sentence sends the message that this Office and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to bring to justice anyone who uses children as a shield in the drug trade," Podolsky said. Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to
