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<\/a>THE PARENTS OF the late Nicholas Feliz Dominici, 1, Otoniel Feliz Samboy and Zoila Dominici, accompanied by Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, right, front row,\u00a0 and Council Member Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14), second from right, second row, carry a large framed photo of Nicholas as they leave Bronx Criminal Court to address the media on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, after Grei Mendez, the former manager of now-closed El Divino Ni\u00f1o daycare center, located on Morris Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, and her husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, were each sentenced to 25 years to life for State charges arising from the accidental death of Nicholas from a fentanyl overdose at the daycare center, which had been used as a base for an underground drug operation, on Sept. 15, 2023. Assistant District Attorney Karl Miller, back row, right, is also pictured.\u00a0Photo courtesy of the Office of the Bronx District Attorney<\/p>\n
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced Wednesday, March 4, that the operator of a Bronx home daycare center and her husband were each sentenced to 25 years to life in prison by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Margaret Clancy for the accidental death<\/a>\u00a0due to fentanyl<\/a>\u00a0poisoning of 22-month-old Nicholas Feliz Domenici on Sept. 15, 2023, and for the exposure of three other children to fentanyl<\/a>\u00a0who survived the poisoning.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As reported<\/a>, Grei Mendez<\/a>, 38, the daycare operator and Felix Herrera Garcia<\/a>, 37, her husband, both of 2705 Morris Avenue, The Bronx, were found guilty on a State charge of second-degree murder (depraved indifference to human life) on Nov. 21, 2025. Additionally, Mendez was found guilty of the State charge of first-degree assault and Herrera Garcia was found guilty of the State charge of second-degree assault on the same date. Both<\/a> had previously pleaded guilty<\/a> in federal court on separate federal charges relating to the incident. Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA beautiful little boy died and three children aged eight months to two years became seriously ill from fentanyl poisoning,\u201d Clark said on Wednesday after the sentencing. \u201cThese babies were shields to protect a narcotics operation. Grei Mendez and her husband, Felix Herrera Garcia showed such depravity that they hid fentanyl under the floor where the children took naps. Little Nicholas paid with his life for their greed; now Mendez and Garcia will spend the rest of their days in prison.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As reported<\/a>, and according to facts at trial, on Sept. 15, 2023, in an apartment in 2707 Morris Avenue in the Kingsbridge Heights section of The Bronx, at a licensed daycare named El Divino Ni\u00f1o, four children were poisoned by exposure to fentanyl: 22-month-old Nicholas Dominici died, 2-year-old Abel Garcia suffered respiratory arrest but survived after being revived at a hospital, Abel\u2019s 8-month-old sister, Kiara Garcia, and Jaziel Lino, another 2-year-old boy, suffered acute opioid intoxication requiring hospital treatment. Emergency medical service technicians used Narcan to reverse symptoms of the brother and sister.<\/p>\n The court heard that large quantities of fentanyl were being processed in the daycare center including with the use of kitchen equipment Mendez used to prepare the children\u2019s food. Prosecutors said that when the children fell ill, and before calling 911, Mendez called her husband, who removed drugs and\/or paraphernalia from the location. They said Mendez was also heard on the call telling her husband to go out the back of the daycare. Video showed Herrera Garcia fleeing the building through a back alley while carrying weighted plastic bags before police and medical responders arrived.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The court further heard that a kilo of fentanyl was found in a closet, and twelve additional kilos of fentanyl, heroin and other narcotic substances were found under<\/a>\u00a0a trap door in the floor of the playroom, directly below where the children played and slept. Kilo presses and drug packaging paraphernalia were found in the apartment as well, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Reacting to the sentencing, City Council Member Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14), who has been helping Nicholas\u2019 parents, Otoniel Feliz Samboy and Zoila Dominici, navigate their journey to justice for their son over the last few years, said on Wednesday, after the sentencing, \u201cNicholas was a bright-eyed, joyful baby whose life was stolen. He should still be with us. And while no sentence will bring him back, I know his family felt some measure of relief today.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sanchez added, \u201cAs a mother, I remain in awe of Zoila and Otoniel. They did not miss a single court date in either the federal or state trials, listening to heart breaking details time and again, and they have continued to show up for their son and for other families\u2014turning unimaginable grief into leadership and advocacy for change.\u201d<\/p>\n The council member said that since Nicholas\u2019 death, the community had worked to ensure his life leaves a lasting impact. \u201cHere in the neighborhood, we renamed<\/a>\u00a0the street where Nicholas lived in his honor so that his life, and the responsibility we carry to protect children, are never forgotten. At the city level, we passed the Nicholas Feliz Dominici Childcare Safety Act<\/a>\u00a0to expand parent rights, strengthen inspections, and improve training for childcare providers. At the state level, we secured investments<\/a>\u00a0to strengthen safety in the West Bronx.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sanchez concluded, \u201cI thank @bronxdaclark<\/a> and Assistant District Attorney Karl Miller for pursuing the maximum sentence and for standing with the Dominici-Feliz family from the beginning in the pursuit of justice. Nicholas\u2019 memory will continue to guide our work to fight for safer childcare, stronger oversight, and the dignity and protection every child and family deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As above, Mendez and Garcia are each currently serving 45-year<\/a> sentences in federal prison after their convictions for narcotics trafficking resulting in Nicholas\u2019s death. The state prison sentences will run concurrently to their federal sentences.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As reported<\/a>, and as above, last year, the city council passed various laws, sponsored by Sanchez on daycare inspection training and parents\u2019 rights as regards childcare programs, something Nicholas\u2019s parents had pressed for in the wake of his death. Other protective laws sponsored by State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33) and other legislators have since passed at State<\/a> level, as reported.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As above, on the first anniversary of Nicholas\u2019 death, Nicholas Feliz Dominici Way was unveiled<\/a> in his memory at Kingsbridge Terrace and East Kingsbridge Road in the his native Kingsbridge Heights. It followed prior remembrance services<\/a>.<\/p>\n GREI MENDEZ, THE daycare owner of now-closed El Divino Ni\u00f1o Daycare Center, located on Morris Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, The Bronx, leaves the 52nd Pct in Norwood in September 2023, after she was charged in the death of Nicholas Feliz Dominici, 1, who died on Sept. 15, 2023, from an accidental fentanyl overdose. A covert fentanyl racket was being run at the daycare. Three others, including Mendez\u2019s husband were also charged in connection to the incident, in which three other infants also overdosed but survived after they were administered Narcan, a lifesaving drug that helps reverse the effects of an overdose. Video by Norwood New via YouTube<\/p>\n Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson had previously said she disagreed<\/a> with those who sought to downplay the severity of the fentanyl crisis<\/a> in The Bronx. Shocking and tragic as Nicholas\u2019s death was, it was not<\/a>, unfortunately, the first<\/a>\u00a0of its<\/a>\u00a0kind<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Asked in November 2025 how their other children were doing, Nicholas\u2019s parents said they were doing good. As she addressed the press in Spanish on that day, Dominici said, \u201cToday is a great day in one way because even though we have a verdict for him today\u2026.it\u2019s criminal\u2026..but we don\u2019t have our child.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Breaking down in quiet tears as her husband slipped his arm around her waist, the young mom thanked Clark, Miller and everyone involved. She continued, \u201cWe still have our empty space, and it will be empty for the rest of our lives.\u201d Gradually, raising her voice slightly, as if in a show of defiance for her lost son, Dominici added, \u201cNothing will fill it, but we have justice, the justice that Nicholas deserved!\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) provides training and regularly updated information on how to obtain and administer naloxone (Narcan). Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\n<\/a>ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY Karl Miller (back row left) from the Office of the Bronx District Attorney joins the parents of the late Nicholas Feliz Dominici, 1, Otoniel Feliz Samboy, at podium, and Zoila Dominici, front row left, as they address the media, together with Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, right, front row,\u00a0 and Council Member Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14), far right, rear, outside\u00a0 Bronx Criminal Court on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, after Grei Mendez, the former manager of now-closed El Divino Ni\u00f1o daycare center, located on Morris Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, and her husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, were each sentenced to 25 years to life for State charges arising from the accidental death of Nicholas from a fentanyl overdose at the daycare center, which had been used as a base for an underground drug operation, on Sept. 15, 2023.\u00a0\u00a0
Photo courtesy of the Bronx District Attorney<\/p>\n<\/a>ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY Karl Miller (second from left) from the Office of the Bronx District Attorney joins the parents of the late Nicholas Feliz Dominici, 1, Otoniel Feliz Samboy and Zoila Dominici, as they address the media, together with Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and others at Bronx Criminal Court on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, after Grei Mendez, the former manager of now-closed El Divino Ni\u00f1o daycare center, located on Morris Avenue in Kingsbridge Heights, The Bronx, who had previously been found guilty in federal court and had been sentenced to 45 years for charges arising from the accidental death of Nicholas from a fentanyl overdose on Sept. 15, 2023, was also found guilty by unanimous verdict by a jury on two separate New York State charges.\u00a0
Video screenshot by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n