By Bay City News.
A San Jose man has been charged in the death of his baby daughter, whose body was found in an apartment filled with opioids earlier this year, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said Friday.
An autopsy showed that 3-month-old Phoenix died from ingesting methamphetamine and fentanyl in May.
David Anthony Castro, 38, is charged with felony child neglect and possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor.
Castro's arraignment is scheduled for Monday at the San Jose Hall of Justice. He faces a prison sentence if convicted.
“I cannot understand how a father could recklessly cause the death of his own child,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “What I fully understand is our responsibility to hold that person accountable for this heartbreaking tragedy.”
On May 13, San Jose police officers found Phoenix unresponsive at a home on Spinnaker Walkway. Fentanyl, broken glass pipes and aluminum foil were found in the kitchen area of the apartment, prosecutors said.
A baby bottle containing liquid sat next to the glass tubes on the kitchen counter. Police also found Narcan, used to revive people who have suffered drug overdoses, the district attorney's office said.
Phoenix was later pronounced dead.
The baby's mother was not home when the baby died. He died of an overdose last month, prosecutors said.
In a high-profile case that has received international coverage, a daycare operator and another suspect have been federally charged after a 1-year-old boy died of an overdose at a daycare in New York City. Police found fentanyl hidden in the room where the baby was sleeping.
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