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PHILADELPHIA -- The mother of an 11-month-old who died after ingesting heroin is facing murder charges, authorities announced during a press conference Friday.
The Delaware County Medical Examiner's Office determined Tuesday that Niccolo Varner died from ingesting heroin on July 15.
Paramedics were called to his Lincoln Avenue home and he was rushed to Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital, but police say the baby had died long before ever being taken to the hospital.
Also on NBCPhiladelphia.com: Family grateful for ex-cop's arrest in attempted luring
The boy's mother, Christine Rivero, is now charged with third-degree murder, criminal homicide, reckless endangerment of a child and aggravated assault in connection with her son's death, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said at Friday's press conference.
Authorities said Friday that Rivero put Niccolo in a tub with his 5-year-old brother and left the bathroom to go outside and do heroin with her friends.
During that time, police said, Niccolo ingested the heroin.
NBCPhiladelphia.com
Niccolo Varner was 11 months old when he died on July 15.
"We don't know how the child received such a large amount of heroin in the child's system. We can only conclude that it was either given to the child or the child consumed it on his own by somehow accessing heroin on the premises," Whelan said. "We don't have that information at this point in time ... We can not determine if the child was given heroin by his mother."
Police say that the baby fell and hit his head while in the tub and they were surprised to learn from the toxicology report that he had died from heroin ingestion and not drowning.
The children's father, Victor Varner, was asleep in the house at the time of the incident. After extensive interviews, police determined that Victor is not to blame for his son's death.
He was granted sole custody of the couple's 5-year-old son.
Rivero's bail is set at $1 million.
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What was she doing leaving her 11 month old bavy in the tub with a 5 year old? Oh wait, she was high. Let her sit in jail.
At first I assumed the bath tub was empty (what idiot would leave children that age alone in a bath tub that had water in it?) and she was using it as a play pen, but I guess that wasn't right.
My mother used to leave me in the tub all the time. She never bathed me, she'd leave me to soak. Looking back as an adult I realize it was attempted murder.
Looking at the photo of this young child - this precious angel should have been given over to parents who would protect her - - may the mother never reproduce AGAIN!!!
Curious. If the 11-month-old baby was "in the tub", then where was the heroin that the baby ingested? If this woman went outside "to do heroin", then did she forget to take her heroin with her?
So for all you cool, edgy people out there who think you can 'handle' heroin,...think again. One way or another, it will come back and bite you. ....keep it up.
Baby junkies cannot handle their heroin .
Where was the Father? Why would you let him have custody of the 5 year old if you know there was a problem with drugs in the house? Has he been tested or are they not allowed due to the fact they didn't find him at fault? Test him anyway!
I agree with Confussed: the father better be tested before he's given custody. Chances are that he wasn't just "sleeping"; when someone in the house is doing junk, the other adult members there-in have more than a passing acquaintance, and I would chance the guess that Daddy was nodded off.
More than that, though: there is something that stinks about this story. What junkie would waste "large quantities of heroin" by giving it to a baby? That stuff's expensive...you don't just pass it out like it's candy on halloween. Did the baby accidentally ingest it maybe, and dumbo mom was trying to evade a child endangerment charge, only to have it backfire and be charged with murder?
I've always maintained that junkies were a waste of air. Haven't been proved wrong yet.
Ah yes.. Here we go.... Dad has to be at fault.... NO, he could not have had a hard night at his night shift job and been asleep because of that... He could not possibly have complained before about his girlfriends drug use... She could not possibly have had drugs without him knowing...
Sure, if they have any reason to suspect that he is doing drugs, he needs to be tested. If they have no reason, then the best they could do is ask him to take a test.
Dad is not always the problem. Until there is reason to believe that he is, then any statement to vilify him is pure drivel. BTW, I am guessing that the law enforcement people and courts have already had contact with this family and I am going to take a guess that the judge knows the guy is clean and thats why he got quick custody.
@QE137
You're closer to the truth than you realize.
source
Sounds like he was trying to do the best that he thought he could under the circumstances. There's still alot to this story than we'll ever know, but it doesn't appear they were both junkies.
Was she nursing? If so, wouldn't the baby be doing pretty much the same drugs she was doing?
A relative my marriage and his fiance left their 11-mo-old (almost her 1st bday) in the tub with their 3-year-old and the 11-mo-old drowned. Neither parent was using drugs or alcohol and both parents serve in the military. No charges whatsoever. They bought an engagement ring with the baby's life insurance money.
by, not "my"
SrMcMahon,
They bought an engagement ring ... hmmm.
Seems people just don't go for the old-fashioned ideas of buying a ring first, getting married second, then having babies third.
Other ideas like being good parents, staying away from drugs, caring more for your child than you do yourself, seem to have gone out of fashion as well.
Poor little baby, rest in peace.....such a short life.....Hope you had some happiness....
if that indeed is the case then why is she charged with murder?
3rd degree murder can be found if the activity is egregious enough to constitute malice.
First degree Murder is Premeditated meaning it was planned and carried out with the intent to kill or while in the commission of a felony crime. Second degree is killing someone with malice, but it was not planned. Third Degree is also Negligent Homicide or Death resulting from someone's Negligence, aka the mother going to get high or leaving the drugs where the child could ingest them.
If the mother deliberately fed the child the drugs, that would be first degree, because it was in the commission of a felony... Felony Child abuse. Though You almost wish she was charged with this.
I believe 3rd-degree is cited in cases of "criminal negligence", meaning the death was caused by the deliberate/willful negligence of the person being charged.
Think of it this way: Let's say an electrical contractor tries to cut costs on a house wiring project, by using heavy-gauge speaker wire instead of properly insulated and grounded 120V wiring. Later, the house burns down with the family inside, because of an electrical fired caused by the faulty wiring. That contractor is now guilty of "Criminally Negligent Homicide". A prosecutor could argue it is murder instead of manslaughter, because the contractor knew the speaker wire would start to overheat and catch fire as soon as any household appliance was plugged in.
Yet how many people will still say that abortions are wrong !!??
What kind of idiot would think it's a wise choice to leave the surviving child in the custody of the Father???? If the authorities think the Father didn't know what the mother was up to, I've got a bridge to sell them. Heroin addiction, especially if it's making a parent so negligible the end result is a child's death, is harder to hide than many addictions, like say being a closet alcoholic. Plus, if she's going outside to do heroin with her friends, it also makes me think she's not hanging around with the best crowd. But hey, one kid is dead, lets leave the other one in a similar environment and see what happens. Oy, the Pennsylvania system needs some kind of major overhaul.
Hopefully she suffers terribly while going through withdrawls.
It's cheaper to give the boy to the father than to put the boy in foster care. The other option might have been to give the boy to someone in the extended family, but that would need more time and money for background checks.
My thought was, what caused Victor to be asleep? What kind of toot had he been on?
I agree there is no way the 'father' wasn't aware of what was going on. Having these kind of drugs in the house alone should have been enough to remove the remaining child from that situation. At the very least, the father should be drug tested regularly to make sure that he is sober and capable of being a parent. Child services need to show up unannounced often to verify this for at least year and probably longer.
What? They father could not have been asleep because of a hard night at work making money for the family? The father could not have complained before about the drug use of the girlfriend? The girlfriend could not have lied to him about having drugs in the house or continuing to do drugs?
I think the court has had contact with this family before and I think they know that the guy is clean. It is not normally that easy for someone to get full custody so fast.
Do not vilify the father until you know whats up. Would be a tragedy to have the remaining child lose his dad on top of the death of his sibling and the imprisonment of his mother if there is no reason for it.
I know it is fashionable to make dad a villain, but until there is reason to think that he truly is, then people best take that attitude and turn it towards mom. She is the one that committed the crime.
Friend of ours had a baby a couple of weeks ago. While she was in the hospital, another woman came in who had gone into labor at 26 weeks and she was drunk. The nurses said her umbilical was hanging out. Her whole extended family came with her and they were all drunk or high on something too. They were all shouting and cursing in the corridors. The intoxicated grandfather raised a ruckus and tusseled with a nurse and security was called. The buzzed grandmother was rummaging behind the nurses' station during all of this. The baby weighed less than two pounds and was airlifted to a childrens hospital four hours away. None of the family could go because they were all under the influence of something.
When I heard about this, it made me wonder if it would better for the baby if it died, instead of being brought up in a horrible family like this.
Poor poor child. I am sooooo sorry. God Bless little one.
Well, God didn't exactly "bless" this little one when it counted, did He?
God's will.
Praise jeebus.
God did bless him. He is in Heaven where there is no more tears, pain, or suffering. Instead of growing up to be another addict living on the streets, he will grow up on streets of gold. Praise God.
Yuck. Mom probably grew up on stories like this...she couldn't handle reality, so she became a junkie. I could tell you the names of a half-dozen women right now, and many more men, that have this very background. It's disgusting and pitiful that kids can't be taught what's real, and how to deal with it, rather than be force-fed fairy tales that give them false hope and magical endings. That, my friend, is the real lunacy.
Steve in WA-2586156:
Nicely put.
Science tells of this universe being born from nothing, into nothing to become something.. Even if you do not want to think that god is real, the quantum mechanics involved in the birth of this universe sure as heck seems magical on many levels.
The only reason we do not call the universe a "fairy tail" is because we live in it and can see it. If the universe was born from nothing into nothing to form something, then is it really as stretch to say that there is a god?
Do not blame the fairy tail for the actions of humans. We humans can take any perfect thing and corrupt it without even trying.
QE137: Quantum mechanics is quite magical, to put it one simplistic way, but not of the same substance (or lack there-of) as religion. And yes, infinitely, it is a stretch to say there is a god, especially in comparison to QM: Quantum mechanics is based on mathematically precise LOGIC, and god is absolutely NOT.
Further: To say we humans can corrupt any "perfect thing" is, by your reference, to accept that the fairy tale is real, which is also illogical, and more magical thinking. "And then a miracle occurs" is not part of any viable proof except in the funny papers.
BTW Isn't heroin passe now?
Does it really matter in light of the fact a baby has been killed?
taney68 - I like the thought process and when combined with Brooke in Ft Lauderdale's comment, doesn't that make war passe?
Yes, Piglizard, it would make all crime and violence passe. But, unfortunately, our society isn't that advanced.
Is it just me or does it seem that the other parent is ALWAYS "asleep" when these tragic and pathetic events occur? (i.e. "Where was the mother?? Oh, she was asleep. Where was the father?? He was sleeping.) This entire story stinks.
Really, I would differ. But that's just me.
No kidding. I would like to know how they determined that the father couldn't have prevented such a scenario from happening, like maybe kicking his heroin using baby-momma out of the house in order to keep the kids safe.
What slays me is that they think it's a good choice to let the surviving kid stay with him. That's some beautiful judgment from the PA authorities.
Did they check his blood for heroin? He could of been nodded out from the dope.
This story is just messed up from every possible direction...
post #1
I would actually use the term under the jail with a whole bunch of heroine and means to only get high once, my guess is she would OD instead of risk going without. The problem of her would certainly be solved.
#2
Probably because she admitted to be using and admitted to being the source of the heroin and probably because she acknowledged putting the baby in a bath tub and walking away. It would be interesting to know if the baby had any water in the lungs at all or if she put a dead baby in the bath with her five year old trying to switch the blame to the older child. Again, under the jail with a bunch of heroin and the means to only get high once. Problem solved.
#3
I absolutely agree and am just astounded by this action. It would be interesting to know if either parent had any sort of conviction for drugs or anything else. Would also be interesting to know if the father had drugs in his system. Perhaps there was no glaring reason to deny the father. I wonder if he would have any objection to his wife having access to a bunch of heroin and the means to only get high once?
Sadly, there are many people in country who struggle with addiction. Some are actually successful in their bid to overcome and when they do they should be supported to regain their lives. Sadly, there are some who will always succumb to their demons and have no business around children even if they are the birth parent. .
As I have said before, the court and law enforcement have likely been involved with this family before. It is not normal for a dad to gain full custody so fast, even under the best of circumstances. This suggests to me that this family has been trying to deal with the mothers addiction and that the court knows the father is clean.
What could be more important than her child. This calls for the death penalty.
death penalty case but PA won't put anyone to death.....wimp state
This right here is a perfect example of why stupidity should be a crime and you should have to pass an aptitude test before breeding. Seriously this woman should be taken out back and shot. The best part is she probably used her goverment checks to buy the herion while her baby was neglected and left in an enviorment where it was able to ingest drugs. This woman is a worthless piece of crap and i hope they don't let her use the i have a problem excuse so she can go to rehab and do this all over again. Take her out of the population and do all of humanity a favor.
If this was Florida, she could have duct tapped and thrown the baby in a swamp, gone out to the wet T shirt contest, banged a couple bar boys, partied for a month, say the baby was taken by the Nanny and she would be free as a bird.
Go get her Pa. Baby killers need to be punished severely. I pray that Pennsylvania jurors are smarter then Florida jurors. (I'm sure they are, Florida is full of stupid people)
I hope this junkie-kumbucket dies a terrible death in a cage.
Shawn D - it takes one to know one, doesn't it? How immature and ignorant to condemn the entire population of a state on the basis of a few.
The baby didn't drown according to forensics, so she must have put him in the tub after he died! How did he get the heroin in his system? I thought it had to be injected. How horrible for that baby however it happened!!!
No, cecelia; you can eat it, smoke it in a cigarette, or snort it (as the article said mom was doing). Actually, you can even insert it as a suppository (and there are a couple stories floating around of "mega-stars" who have hidden their addictions for years this way). There's probably even more than I've heard about (I worked in a drug rehab center for a few years.) It's really amazing the desperate measures that desperate people will take.
So many persons know of parents who abuse and neglect their babies and stay silent. They *mind their own business.* It is not possible to be a responsible loving parent and abuse drugs and alcohol. We are hearing more and more instances of babies dying of methadone poisoning or testing positive for meth. Then we wonder why these children who are often raised in violent and chaotic circumstances grow up wounded and end up *in the system* and/or incarcerated. Do the right thing: report suspected child abuse when you see it and don't remain silent. Better to report suspected abuse and be wrong than to keep silent and have a baby die. Thank you!
Methadone is a synthetic form of heroin, often used under the care of some sort of licensed practitioner (say, at a clinic) for withdrawal from the narcotic. It is a central nervous system depressant, a pain-killer, legally prescribed to people with chronic, debilitating pain; the Veterans Administration Docs even prescribes it to our vets that fit that criteria. I am positive that if a child has eaten methadone and died, it was an accident, and more of a tragedy than you give it credit.
"Meth", on the other hand, is 'crystal methamphetamine', a stimulant that is easily and cheaply produced by almost any idiot that has an urge to, and which has no medical use whatsoever, now, nor will it at any time in the future. Children that live in a house where it has been cooked can test positive, even though they have not had contact with the drug. Seriously: the chemicals stay in the walls and substructure of the building, and can be absorbed unsuspectingly by the next tenant...they are that toxic. We have an ordinance in our town that forces razing of homes that have been meth kitchens because of this.
I think your heart is in the right place, katy, but you can cause a world of hurt to innocent parents if you aren't positively sure of things and events. When a parent is "reported" and accused of something like this, even when they are innocent, it can be years before they can prove it to CPS, because to CPS, you are guilty until proven innocent if there is a 'witness' or circumstantial evidence, reliable or otherwise. I have read of several heart-breaking incidents like this. I suggest to you that this is why some people "mind their own business". It really is good advice unless you actually see something happening with your own eyes.
So they don't know how the baby got heroin- well that implies that an 11 month old got out of the tub himself, found mom's stash, ingested it then got back in the tub? I don't THINK so!! Of course she had to give it to him. Most 11 month old kids are just learning to walk. There is no way he got it by himself.
The ii month old gor ahold of the heroin but not the 5 year old.Something is very fishy.Either she or the dad had to have given the heroin to this child.Either way the father is no candidate for father of the year award.They should test the 5 year old to make sure that mommy or daddy never gave that child heroin.
Please refrain from drinking your mop water until further notice.
Really?
This is just disgusting. The system should have denied her bond. What I don't get is how they didn't charge the father & take the 5 year old out of his care. He, himself should be charged with negligence due to the fact he knows his wife is an addict & he left her to care for both his children while he was sleeping. Leads me to believe that maybe he is also an addict & seen nothing wrong with his wife going outside to do dope with friends. I doubt the lady even went outside to do the heroin otherwise the 11 month wouldn't have died from an overdose.
May that baby S.I.P. (Sleep In Peace)!!!
The police and courts have likely dealt with this family before and know the problems. They also likely know the father is clean. It is not usual for someone to gain full custody over night, especially when the court has not had dealings with the family before.
The father dose not deserve to be charged unless it is found that he was directly responsible for the crime. Drug addicts are vary good at lying about their habit. He may have thought she was sobering up. Maybe she was making good progress to cleaning up her act and then bam! she slides backwards and hides the fact that she has drugs from the father.
Think about it. She did these drugs with friends OUTSIDE while dad was asleep. This dose not suggest to you that maybe she was attempting to hide what she was doing?
Ok yeah sure maybe the dad was sober but the system should test him. As for the mother hiding it, honey she wasnt doing a very good job of it going outside to do drugs with friends. Nor the 11 month old who died from the heroin in the tub in the house.
her baby was disposable....as is the mother
I don't even leave my six year old alone in the bath tub by himself, let alone his baby sister with him. The tub is a prime source of childhood injuries, especially from slipping, falling, and hitting their heads (not just the drowning hazard). But, when you're talking about a mother who went outside to do effing heroine, I don't think safety was a major concern in this household.
Definition of heroine:
1. A woman noted for courage and daring action.
2. A woman noted for special achievement in a particular field.
3. The principal female character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.
So, CLB77 - are you saying that you think this mother possesses courage and should be noted for high achievements in her field?
Thank you Atticus: I get so tired of know-it-alls that can't spell, or don't know how to use a spell check. It gives them very little credibility.
They should put one last needle in her arm, 5 grams of Sodium Thiopental.
Stupid B*tch I hope she rots in jail the rest of her life. I bet the baby was put in the tub after he died and she though it would be considered an accident. Again stupid b*tch.
Manslaughter at most.
They can take away our right to bear arms; they can take away our freedom of speech; they can take away our freedom of religion; but they can't take away a drug-addicted, welfare-relying whore's right to have children. So these sluts just keep pumping kids into the system to grow up in horrible conditions and become wards of the state themselves, through welfare and usually prison. Why can't someone of child-bearing age who is on drugs or welfare be required to stay on birth control? Dam their rights, protect the children and the taxpayers.
You forgot to mention the men that are involved as well, they are just as responsible for the child as the women. Men who are on drugs and do not support their children should also not be allowed to breed.
What a sad, sad loss of a sweet baby. Thankfully the 5-year-old did not drown. I just hope the 5-year-old remains safe and very loved for the rest of his life.
I'd be very skeptical about the child being safe. If the father was remotely responsible, he would not have allowed those children to remain in a home with a mother using heroin. There is no way he was not aware of her drug usage.
Micheleshdwfx - How the hell are you going to blame this on the father? 99.9% of the time in a separation the woman gets the kids, doesn't matter if she's a drugged out lunatic, the woman still gets the child. Have you ever been anywhere near a custody battle? I've seen many battles were the woman had a long criminal history, mental health issues, and addicted to drugs but they still get the child.
The issue of the legal system and custody in divorce cases doesn't have crap to do with this story so I've no idea why you are taking out your frustrations on me on the subject. Also, yep, when your wife is on heroin you are in part to blame for the consequences. That's pretty easy to understand I think. No way you don't know your spouse is taking heroin.
This woman is so vile in so many ways I can't even think of what I'd want to do to her first. As for the father, he sounds like a typical father - taking a nap while the wife takes care of the kids. Don't even think about helping or making sure she's not high. Probably never took care of the kids a day in their lives and now he's being given custody of the 5 year old???? That poor child....
Absolutely amazing that DYFS in it's infinite wisdom gives the 5 year old back to the father. Having seen that organization go after an absolutely innocent family that I know of, and here they quickly return a child to a home with serious drug abuse, I am convinced that there is often little rhyme nor reason for how they operate. Imagine this, a toddler falls on his toy train and gets a tiny bruise on his belly. A doctor feels obligated to report it and DYFS says that babies/toddlers don't get bruises in that location, they swoop in and remove the children and put them in filthy foster homes where the little girl is inappropriately treated by someone called "Uncle Rico". She starts using horrible words she never, ever used before. Yes I'm ranting but just remembering all this infuriates me. DYFS is a seriously dysfunctional organization and it needs a major overhaul.
Michele, You're absolutely right. My grandson was taken away from his parents because in school one day he talked about how he and his dad play fight. He was smiling and laughing about it the entire time and the school nurse thought he was talking about abuse. DYFS came to the house and interviewed all the children. Only the boy was removed screaming and crying for mommy and daddy. He was eventually returned but now needs therapy to deal with his intense anxiety. He doesn't like to play anymore and he's only 6 years old.
I'm so sorry that you had to go through this injustice as well. It's disgusting and even worse is that there is absolutely nothing a family can do about it. You are at their mercy entirely. A huge amount of money (over $100k) had to be spent on lawyers, the baby got horrible diaper rash and the little girl was seriously traumatized as was your grandson. On visitations, her hair was greasy and we learned that she had gone from her pink little girl bedroom to a filthy mattress in the corner of a room. We are talking about parents who never even had a loud argument, absolutely no drug or alcohol issues. Breast milk was given to DYFS for the baby and it was thrown out because it had 'gone bad' when it was simply separated which is what breast milk does. Now what kind of organization that is in the business of taking care of babies and children does not know this? When it was abundantly clear that "Uncle Rico" had behaved very inappropriately with the little girl, guess what was done about it? Absolutely nothing. How can DYFS be given total immunity to seemingly pick and choose who they want to go after?? I would say they were a joke if they were not so very, very dangerous.
Wow!! I'm so sorry to read what happened to this little girl you know. DYFS social workers are all over worked and underpaid so their actions are poor at best. I don't understand how they could ignore the actions of "Uncle Rico" much less the dirty conditions the child lived under. I pray she is back safely with her parents and will never be taken again. Thank you for sharing your story. Having you for moral support I'm sure helped that family.
The case worker herself in this particular situation thought it was all horrible and that there was no reason to pursue it. Same with an advocate from CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). The case workers bosses decided they knew better. Why bother having case workers or CASA if they are not listened to? The kids have been home for years now thankfully. The youngest was too young to remember anything and the girl is ok but she still, even after years, will mention things from that time. The grandparents had to compromise their retirement funds significantly but of course there is no recourse for that. Thank you for sharing your story as well. Persecute some families for no or very little sensible reason and let others go like the father in this home. It's just so wrong that I see no change in the way they work coming at any time in the forseeable future.
In this case, the court has probably dealt with this family before. Even under the best of circumstances, it is not normal for a father to be granted full custody so fast. This suggests that the court knows the father is not a problem.
I also might add that it is unfair to brand the father a problem. Yeah, he almost certainly knew about his gf problems, but he was also likely lead to believe that she was getting better and lied to about the presents of drugs in the house.
This father could have had a long night at work providing for his family and been sleeping for that reason. Until he is proven to be the problem, I think people need to put their anger on the fool that caused the death of a child... In this case, mom.
It's only speculation but sure maybe the father is a decent caregiver. The story I shared is simply to show the vast differences in how cases are handled from one county/state to another and how it often just does not make sense. The story I shared is also a commentary on how some, *some*, foster homes are worse than the original environment the child was in. I don't wish that 5 year old into that system by a long shot. I'm sorry but nobody will ever convince me that the overall DYFS system does not need to be significantly improved. I don't have all the answers, I only know that major injustices can and do happen within the system today.