Three-Month-Old Baby Boy Dies Just Two Days Before Christmas After Being Dropped By Babysitter

It has been reported that 32-year-old Mark Modzelewski and Nicole Nicastro, 34, took their 3-month-old baby boy off life support Friday and he died minutes later, just two days before Christmas.

According to People, on Tuesday, December 27, New Jersey police responded to a Saddle Brook home and found Reece Modzelewski unresponsive.

Emergency medical services performed CPR on the baby before he was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was placed on life-support.

It was alleged that Nicastro, who is a pre-K teacher at James F. Murray Elementary School in Jersey City, left her baby with a family member – who has not been named – to babysit while she went to work.

Sometime during the day, the babysitter stated that she was holding Reece and she accidently dropped him and he landed on his head.

A family friend, Benjamin DiFranco, said the mother “was doing what she thought was best for the baby.”

Afterward, a Go Fund Me page was created to help the parents with medical expenses, but according to the site, DiFranco wrote that the child would most likely die from injuries.

“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that Reece, the 3-month-old son of Nicole and Mark, will succumb to his injuries,” DiFranco wrote.

“There isn’t anything more the doctors can do. Even if he wakes up he will have no quality of life; not being able to walk, talk or function on his own. This is the one of the hardest decision anyone will ever have to make. The love that Nicole and Mark have for their baby boy will be forever and he will be greatly missed.”

More than $24,000 has been donated to the child’s family.

“It’s awful,” said Cabrera Farese, who is a friend of the family.

“You can’t imagine what the parents are going through.”

Farese added that friends and family are doing all they can to support Modzelewski and Nicastro through this ordeal.

In a Facebook post, Modzelewski wrote, “My little baby boy is dying and there’s nothing I can do to help or comfort him. I don’t know if he can hear, see, taste or touch anymore. My heart has been torn out of my chest. I will miss feeding, burping, holding, playing, bathing, pretend yelling, and disciplining, tummy time, putting him to bed, putting on his clothes, stretching his neck to fix his torticollis and especially changing his diaper.”

“He is such a friendly, smiling and happy baby and we gave him all the love we could. I regret that we will not be able to see him grow up and have all the life experiences anyone should expect to have. I love you Reece and hopefully, there’s a heaven so I’ll be able to see your goofy little smile again someday.”

“A lot of people have had children in the past few months and I was kind of hoping that Reece would be able to meet them, play with them and go to school with some of them over the upcoming years, but that won’t be possible anymore.”

Just two days before Christmas, the child’s parents made the decision to take him off life support and as a result, Reece died minutes later.

DiFranco released an update, which stated as follows, “Everyone has been so supportive and generous. Nicole and Mark cannot thank you enough.”

It was not immediately made clear if the babysitter, who is responsible for dropping the baby on his head which resulted in death, will face any criminal charges.

Saddle Brook Police and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office will be conducting an investigation.

[Featured Image by Janzwolinski/iStock]