A Connecticut man is facing manslaughter charges for allegedly putting alcohol in his baby’s bottle, eventually leading to the infant’s death, KPHO (Phoenix) is reporting .
22-year-old Jorge Chiclana of Bridgeport was arrested this week, although the baby’s death took place over a year ago.
Police said that the five-month-old baby, Jacob Isaiah Chiclana, died on May 16, 2014. On that night, police were called to the apartment where he lived with his father, after receiving a 911 call about an unresponsive child.
At first, investigators thought the boy – who had asthma – may have been overcome by the fumes from spray paint (his father had spray-painted a toy car for him that night). His mother, Odalis Galarza, confirmed that the baby had battled asthma his entire life.
“He had lots of problems, always had to give him the nebulizer every four hours, but even through that he was a champ, always smiling always laughing.”
Toxicology reports would later reveal a contributing factor in the baby’s death: his father had allegedly put alcohol in his bottle , according to The Daily Mail . In fact, the contents of the baby’s bottle that night were found later to contain 25 percent alcohol – the equivalent of a 50 proof cocktail.
Galarza was shocked her baby’s father was accused of putting alcohol in the infant’s bottle.
“I was speechless. I asked them ‘are you sure’. I personally didn’t see him do it, but I do know he made the bottle and because it looked normal, I fed my son.”
Chiclana would later admit to police that he had “joked about” putting alcohol in the baby’s bottle to help him with teething and sleeping.
Writing on What to Expect, parenting blogger Catherine Donaldson-Evans reminds readers that babies should never be given alcohol , saying that it’s one bit of old-time parenting advice that is actually bad advice.
“ Rub your baby ‘s gums with liquor to stop teething pain. Many parents used this “teething remedy” on their babies when I was little. Think it’s pretty obvious now that you should never give alcohol to an infant.”
Although alcohol played a role in Jacob’s death, he didn’t die of alcohol poisoning. According to the autopsy report, the baby “”most likely died due to the fact that the asthmatic infant was placed face down in the crib which could affect the child’s breathing due to the central nervous system being depressed due to the alcohol.”
Jorge Chiclana has been charged with manslaughter, risk of injury to a child and impairing the morals of children. He’s currently being held on $75,000 bond.
[Image courtesy of: Norwalk Police Department via KPHO ]
