Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A Buffalo couple will get five years probation for the death of a child because of neglect.
26-year-old Luis Gonzalez Jr and 23-year-old Kitrina Udrea pleaded guilty to second degree manslaughter in the death of the 2-and-a-half-month-old child Londyn Gonzalez.
On Friday, July 7, 2023, police and paramedics responded to an apartment on the 2000 block of William Street in the Town of Cheektowaga after receiving a 911 call for an unresponsive child. The victim, Londyn Gonzalez, was transported by ambulance to the former Oishei Children’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The investigation determined that the couple recklessly caused the death of their infant daughter. When she was born, prosecutors say Londyn was born at a healthy weight of 6 pounds and 8 ounces. During two pediatric appointments in late April and early May 2023, a medical provider expressed concern about the baby’s declining weight and instructed the couple to increase the amount of formula as well as the frequency of her feeds. After they failed to return for a third appointment on May 8, 2023, they never contacted the pediatrician’s office again and did not take their child to another pediatrician. At the time of her death, Londyn weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces. The Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the manner of death as homicide by neglect caused due to malnutrition and dehydration.
“As we advised the court, this crime was not a brief lapse in judgment or a single poor decision, but the intentional withholding of nutrition for several weeks from their own baby. The cries of their hungry newborn and the advice of medical professionals fell on deaf ears,” said DA Mike Keane.
An investigation found the couple failed to seek help for their baby's declining weight
An investigation found the couple failed to seek help for their baby's declining weight
