The operator of an unlicensed daycare at which a 6-month-old girl died last year is now jailed on a grand jury indictment charging her with 1st degree murder, aggravated child neglect, and operating a childcare agency without a license.
Officers and medics responded to the Welshwood Drive apartment of Lourdes Hernandez, 35, on the afternoon of February 8, 2024, on a report of an unresponsive infant. The victim's mother called 911 after arriving at the apartment to pick up her daughter, Madison Alverto-Coto. The mother found other children in the apartment crying and Hernandez holding the victim putting water on her head. Madison was rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
A total of 10 children under the age of 3 were in the apartment that day.
An autopsy later determined that Madison's body contained the antihistamine Diphenhydramine, commonly used in medications like Benadryl, at nearly 3 times the amount for an adult.
Hernandez relocated to a residence on Zermatt Avenue and was arrested there. Several children were found in that apartment.
Bond for Hernandez is set at $150,000. She is to appear before a Criminal Court judge on April 2.
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Lourdes Hernandez, 35