New York Parents Charged Over Death of Toddler Who Ingested Lethal Cocktail of Drugs

In this file photo, tape blocks a street in New York. The Epoch Times

A New York couple has been charged with the death of their 14-month-old son, who was found unresponsive at their home earlier this month. Police said the toddler had ingested a lethal cocktail of cocaine, fentanyl, and morphine.

Wilkens Adonis and Daryllee Leibrock, both 38 years old, were indicted on Jan. 25 on charges including Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and other related charges, according to a press release from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.

Their son, Joseph Adonis, was found unresponsive inside the couple’s home in Holbrook on Jan. 3, according to officials. An 11-year-old child was also at the home at the time of the death, police said.

Law enforcement officials reported that they responded to a 911 call about an unresponsive child at the home and found the 14-month-old youngster in the couple’s bedroom. The child was immediately taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A search of the couple’s home led to police discovering narcotics in the bedroom where the child was found.

Preliminary toxicology results showed the presence of multiple substances in the child’s blood, including cocaine, fentanyl, morphine, norfentanyl, and benzoylecgonine.

However, the toddler’s death remains under investigation, police said.

Police Find Loaded Shotgun and Drugs

During the search of the couple’s home, officers found a heroin and fentanyl mixture, cocaine, alprazolam, drug packaging materials, two digital scales, an electronic stun gun, a loaded shotgun, and a rifle. According to the officers, none of these items were safely secured and were easily accessible to both children in the home.

At the time of the death, Ms. Leibrock was allegedly subject to Suffolk County Family Court protection orders that barred her from being around either of her children or from possessing illegal drugs that created an unreasonable risk to the health, safety, or welfare of her children, according to officials.

Ms. Leibrock was additionally charged on Thursday with violating orders of protection involving the two children, according to the District Attorney’s office.

At the time of their arrests, both Mr. Adonis and Ms. Leibrock had open warrants for failure to appear in Suffolk County First District Court on misdemeanor charges of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance, according to officials.

A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chemist checks confiscated pills containing fentanyl at the DEA Northeast Regional Laboratory in New York, on Oct. 8, 2019. Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images

‘Wakeup Call’

“The death of a toddler from a suspected overdose of poisonous drugs is an unfortunate but not unexpected next step in the opioid overdose crisis and should be a wakeup call to our Albany legislators that decisive action must happen now. Children are dying,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “I urge every New Yorker to contact your legislators and demand that they address this crisis.”

Both Mr. Adonis and Ms. Leibrock are being held on bail.

Matthew Tuohy, an attorney for Mr. Adonis, told The New York Post on Thursday that his client maintains his innocence, adding that the father is a recovering drug user.

“He didn’t know of any paraphernalia in the house, he actually consented to the police search,” the attorney said of his client. “He was doing well, and the family court was monitoring him aggressively. He’s maintaining his innocence in terms of the obviously terrible tragedy with the child.”

Ms. Leibrock’s court-appointed attorney, Steve Fondulis, told reporters outside court on Thursday that prosecutors are still waiting for the child’s autopsy results, Newsday reports.

“I look forward to looking over the evidence,” Mr. Fondulis said.