[UPDATE] Bronx Day Care Death: Authorities Find Trapdoor Filled With Drugs Underneath Nursery

New York authorities investigating the death of a one-year-old child at a Bronx daycare due to fentanyl exposure discovered a trapdoor underneath the nursery where they found drugs.

Police officers found a "large quantity" of fentanyl, other drugs, and paraphernalia hidden under the nursery's trapdoor. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) released images of the trapdoor that showed over a dozen plastic bags filled with brown and white powders.

Drugs Found in Trapdoor Under Bronx Day Care

The victim was identified as Nicholas Dominici, who officials said had been at the Divino Nino nursery for only a week before his death. Police added that fentanyl was hidden in the nap room under a mat as the one-year-old child was sleeping.

Authorities reported that three other children were admitted to the hospital after exposure to the powerful opioid at the nursery in the Bronx. According to BBC, medical professionals who analyzed urine from one of the victims confirmed the presence of the drug inside the children.

Prosecutors said that the owner of the daycare, 36-year-old Grei Mendez, and her tenant, 41-year-old Carlisto Acevedo Brito, are now facing federal charges of narcotics possession with intent to distribute, resulting in death and conspiracy charges.

In a statement this week, Manhattan US Attorney Damien Williams said that they alleged the defendants poisoned the four children and are responsible for the death of one of them. He argued that the two suspects were running a drug operation from a daycare center.

Both of the defendants were formally charged by a grand jury earlier on Thursday in relation to the death of Dominici. Authorities have labeled the two suspects as flight risks and are being held without bail. They are both facing life in prison if they are convicted in the case.

On Thursday, Lt. John Russo said that the latest discovery of the drugs under the trapdoor was prompted by a tip that there were more drugs than the kilogram of fentanyl found near nap mats at the nursery, according to the New York Times.

Fentanyl Overdose Death

Last week, a neighbor said the nursery owners had spent several months sprucing the place up, including laying down new floors. On top of the drugs, authorities allegedly found two so-called kilo presses that drug dealers use to package large quantities of drugs.

The Bronx daycare site is among the areas that are the hardest hit by fatal overdoses in the city. Authorities reported 2,668 fatal overdoses in the city in 2021, reaching "unprecedented levels."

The rise in the number of cases was driven mainly by fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid that was involved in 80% of overdose deaths that particular year. Additionally, residents of the Bronx had the highest rate of overdose deaths.

An attorney for Mendez said that she was unaware that drugs were being stored in her daycare by Brito, her husband's cousin, to whom she was renting a room for $200 a week. According to ABC News, authorities are currently searching for the suspect's husband, who was seen on video fleeing the daycare from a back alley carrying two trash bags.