Parents charged in death of 7-week-old Bronx baby dumped in woods
BRONX, N.Y. --The parents of 7-week-old Mason Tyler Feliciano have been indicted in the Bronx for killing him in their home, taking his tiny corpse on a road trip and then dumping it in the woods upstate, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark announced on Tuesday.
The baby's father, 51-year-old José "Alex" Feliciano, is accused of murdering the infant by blunt force trauma to the head on Dec. 10. His mother, 31-year-old Danielle Whyte, is charged with criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter for leaving the child in his father's care even though she knew him to be dangerous, and because it is alleged that neither parent called for medical help as Mason lay dying.
Whyte's attorney declined to comment on the case. Voicemail's left with Feliciano's attorney have not yet been returned.
According to the Bronx DA, once baby Mason had died in their home in the Morris Park section of the Bronx, his parents drove his body upstate to Brewster, NY., where they checked into Heidi's Inn on Route 22. According to prosectors, they stayed there for a couple of nights and some time that weekend drove to Dover in Dutchess County, where they disposed of their baby's corpse in a wooded area.
Feliciano has pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, a class A felony, first-degree manslaughter and concealment of a human corpse. Whyte has pleaded not-guilty to criminally negligent homicide, second-degree manslaughter and concealment of a human corpse. If convicted on all charges, Feliciano faces 25 years to life in prison; Whyte faces up to 15 years.
Both were remanded to jail. Feliciano's case was adjourned until March 29 and Whyte's bail will be decided on Friday, Jan. 29.