NEW YORK CITY — A 56-year-old man has been convicted on Monday of causing the death of his two-year-old son, who died of acute intoxication from the combined effects of cocaine and fentanyl.
Anthony Rosa was found guilty of manslaughter and aggravated harassment, prosecutors said.
On June 16, 2021, Rosa’s son Charlie became lethargic after drinking from a blue baby bottle while they were in a waiting room of a hospital where Rosa’s wife was in labor with their second child.
The 2-year-old boy nearly unconscious when the 56-year-old man took him home on a cross-town bus around 10 p.m.
At 3 a.m., Rosa’s wife texted him that their baby was born and shared photos. But an hour later, Rosa had security at the shelter call 911 saying Charlie was unresponsive.
The boy was pronounced dead at a local hospital around 5:05 a.m.
“A jury of his peers determined that Anthony Rosa’s reckless disregard for the risk of his drug use caused the death of his two-year-old son, Charlie,” District Attorney Alvin Bragg said. “Rosa was fully aware of the hazards and knew that under ACS supervision, he was not allowed to be alone with his son. The single day Rosa and Charlie were alone – while Rosa’s wife gave birth to the brother Charlie will never meet – Charlie ingested enough fentanyl to kill an adult. I thank my office’s Child Abuse Bureau for expertly trying this case.”
Testing confirmed the presence of cocaine and fentanyl in Charlie’s blue baby bottle, as well as fentanyl in a water bottle sitting next to it in Charlie’s stroller, prosecutors said.
The Office of Chief Medical Examiner ruled that the amount of fentanyl in Charlie’s body was ten times the amount that would be used in a medical setting and would have killed an adult.
Rosa will be sentenced to prison on March 29.