{"id":153047,"date":"2026-03-04T23:14:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T23:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/153047\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T23:14:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T23:14:07","slug":"parents-of-baby-killed-by-fentanyl-exposure-at-nyc-daycare-declare-justice-is-revenge-at-sentencing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/153047\/","title":{"rendered":"Parents of baby killed by fentanyl exposure at NYC daycare declare ‘justice is revenge’ at sentencing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The heartbroken parents of a 22-month-old boy killed by fentanyl exposure at a Bronx daycare <\/a>declared \u201cjustice is revenge\u201d Wednesday, as the couple responsible for their son\u2019s tragic death was sentenced to decades behind bars.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the worst thing that could\u2019ve happened to us,\u201d mom Zoila Dominici said of the fatal poisoning of her son, Nicholas, in September 2023.\u00a0\u201cYou should never come out of jail, ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daycare operator Grei Mendez and her drug dealing husband Felix Herrera Garcia were sentenced to 25 years to life on second degree murder and assault charges in Bronx County Court \u2014 which they\u2019ll serve concurrently with a 45-year federal prison sentence on drug charges, handed down in November<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Zoila Dominici said th couple who killed her child, \u201cshould never come out of jail, ever\u201d at their sentencing on March 4, 2026. TOMAS E. GASTON<\/p>\n

Little Nicholas Dominici was killed by fentanyl exposure at a Bronx daycare. Tomas E. Gaston<\/p>\n

Jurors previously found that the couple showed \u201cdepraved indifference\u201d by hiding fentanyl under the floor boards of Kingsbridge\u2019s Divino Ni\u00f1o Daycare where the tots took naps.<\/p>\n

\u201cNicholas deserves justice because Nicholas is not coming back ever,\u201d Dominici told the court as she broke down in tears.\u00a0\u201cI just hope for the day I die to see him again.\u201d<\/p>\n

She and her family now have to celebrate the boy\u2019s birthday \u201cat the cemetery\u201d while he lives on only in their imaginations, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly you know the last moment of my son\u2018s life,\u201d she said in court, addressing Mendez. \u201cThat must have been horrible for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The child\u2019s devastated dad, Otoniel Feliz, declared in court, \u201cI know that 45 years in federal court is a lot [but] the average number for Nicholas to come back is zero.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJustice is revenge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Before the sentencing, Judge Margaret Clancy said that calling Nicholas\u2019 death \u201ca tragedy is a severe understatement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grei Mendez and Felix Herrera Garcia were sentenced to 25 years to life on second degree murder charges. TOMAS E. GASTON<\/p>\n

\u201cIt defies understanding that these defendants, parents themselves, could begin and continue their fentanyl and drug operation while\u00a0at the same time seeking licenses from the city,\u201d Clancy said.<\/p>\n

Garcia, meanwhile, apologized and asked for forgiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to say I am sorry to the victim\u2019s family and also to my family,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryday when I speak to God, I tell him that he should have taken me and not Nicholas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devastated dad Otoniel Feliz called justice \u201crevenge.\u201d Tomas E. Gaston<\/p>\n

Three other children were also poisoned during the nightmarish ordeal \u2014 including a 2-year-old boy who was rushed to the hospital and nearly died after being revived with the opioid overdose drug Narcan, authorities said at the time.<\/p>\n

In court Wednesday, Dominici\u00a0 wore a T- shirt with a photo of her sweet-faced baby boy and the date of his death.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeloved son, you are always in our hearts,\u201d it proclaimed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The heartbroken parents of a 22-month-old boy killed by fentanyl exposure at a Bronx daycare declared \u201cjustice is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":153048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,2803,28890,6277,57,238,9,24,63,3209,129,131,130,58],"class_list":["post-153047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-court","tag-daycare","tag-fentanyl","tag-metro","tag-murders","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-sentencing","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}