Couple found guilty of murder in child's 2023 fentanyl-related death at Bronx day care

A Bronx couple has been found guilty of murder in the 2023 fentanyl-related death of 1-year-old Nicholas Dominici.

Grei Mendez and Felix Herrera-Garcia were both found guilty on second-degree murder charges in a Bronx courtroom Friday afternoon after a nearly three-month trial. Mendez was also found guilty on a first-degree assault charge.

Mendez and Herrera-Garcia operated Divino Niño Daycare out of a small apartment in the Bronx, but authorities said inside the day care center was also a large-scale fentanyl packaging and distribution operation.

In September 2023, four children, including Nicholas, were rushed from the day care to a local hospital to be treated for fentanyl poisoning. Nicholas died at the hospital.

The couple's family was in the courtroom and burst into tears when the verdict was read.

Nicholas's family was also in the courtroom. His parents stood alongside the Bronx district attorney to address the media after Friday's sentencing.

"Nicholas was a happy child looking for a place to stay safe, to learn, to play," Otoniel Feliz, Nicholas's father, said. "Those people was evil. Those people was, you know, careless about human life."

"I assured this family that we would stand by them and make sure that we got justice for Nicholas and the others," Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said, "and today that Bronx grand jury delivered the justice for them."

Mendez and Herrera-Garcia are due back in court Dec. 8. That's when a sentencing date will be determined.

Earlier this year, Mendez was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for drug trafficking charges, the same sentence handed down to Herrera-Garcia in 2024.