A San Jose man has been charged with the death of his baby daughter whose body was found in an apartment prosecutors said was littered with opioids.
An autopsy showed that the three-month-old died from ingesting methamphetamine and fentanyl, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.
David Anthony Castro, 38, is charged with felony child neglect and possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor. Castro’s arraignment is scheduled for Monday afternoon in San Jose.
“I can’t fathom how a parent could recklessly cause the death of their own child,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “What I fully understand is our responsibility to hold that person accountable for this heartbreaking tragedy.”
On May 13, San Jose police responded to a 911 call from a home on Spinnaker Walkway to find a baby girl unconscious. Fentanyl, broken glass pipes and aluminum foil were found in the kitchen area of the apartment, according to prosecutors.
A baby bottle filled with liquid was located right next to the glass pipes on the kitchen counter. Police also found Narcan, used to revive people from drug overdoses. The child was later pronounced dead.
The mother of the infant, who was not at home when the baby died, herself succumbed to an overdose last month, according to Rosen.
Unfortunately, this could have been prevented because Santa Clara County, Dept. of Family and Children Services released the baby to the father after she was born positive tox for meth. At birth in Feb. 2023. Social Worker was instructed by supervisors to release the baby to the father even though the parents have long drug, criminal, and CPS history including two other children removed and getting CPS services. Social worker saw the child and father 16 days before her death and did not drug test the father and do anything to protect her.
Child welfare needs to explain to surviving children, relatives and community WHY they did not do anything to protect 3 months child. If child welfare is not held accountable, how can the community feel that child welfare will take their child abuse pleads seriously, advocate, and protect those most vulnerable children??