A 10-year-old boy died after eating shrimp that his mother says was poisoned with fentanyl.
Nathaniel Castro Mendoza stopped breathing after eating the meal that was prepared for him by his uncle’s then-girlfriend Christina Alvarez.
Paramedics rushed to the southern California house and tried to save him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
His mom Marcy Castro said it was not until weeks later she learned her little boy’s shocking death was in fact caused by unknown exposure to fentanyl and xylazine.
Alvarez, 32, was arrested in March after authorities determined she allegedly ‘possessed and stored fentanyl in a manner that led to the victim’s death’, according to police reports.
She was charged with felony child endangerment and an enhancement of willful harm resulting in death. Alvarez pleaded not guilty and is being held on a $100,000 bail.
Now, the boy’s mother is pleading for justice, telling Daily Mail the charges ‘are not enough’.
‘Nathaniel didn’t go looking for drugs, he wasn’t trying to get high. He was just an innocent boy in his home. He should have been safe,’ the mom said.
Nathaniel Castro Mendoza, 10, died on December 12, 20124 after eating shrimp that was allegedly laced with fentanyl at his family home
Christina Alvarez, 32, (pictured) was arrested in March and charged with felony child endangerment in connection to Nathaniel’s case, booking records show
His mom Marcy Castro (pictured at Nathaniel’s grave) told the Daily Mail that detectives ‘found more fentanyl on her’ as they took her into custody, adding she thinks Alvarez should now be charged with murder
Court records show Alvarez has requested a mental disorder diversion program, which offers criminal offenders battling mental health conditions an alternative to incarceration.
Nathaniel died on December 12 at his family home in Rancho Cucamonga, about 37 miles east of Los Angeles.
Weeks later Marcy received a call from the coroner notifying her that his death was caused by fentanyl exposure.
She said the home, where Alvarez is understood to have been living at the time of Nathaniel’s death, was believed to be a ‘drug-free’ environment.
‘We still don’t know how Nathaniel came in contact with the drug, if he ingested it or if [Alvarez] touched something,’ Marcy told the Daily Mail.
‘Christina gave him shrimp that night for dinner so we think he might have ingested it.’
Alvarez was arrested on March 14 following a criminal investigation by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
She appeared in court on Friday for a mental disorder diversion hearing which, according to booking records, was delayed until July 18.
Marcy, who attended the hearing, said the family’s understanding is that ‘the mental health evaluation for Christina Alvarez was not completed’.
‘Nathaniel didn’t go looking for drugs, he wasn’t trying to get high. He was just an innocent boy in his home. He should have been safe,’ Marcy Castro (pictured with Nathaniel)
Marcy launched the Nathaniel’s Light campaign which seeks to create legislation that will make it a federal crime to harm or kill a minor through fentanyl possession.
The grieving mother is outraged by the delay, which she says ‘only adds to our heartache as a family still grieving the loss of our son’.
‘[Nathaniel] was just 10 years old – smart, funny, loving, and full of life,’ she said.
‘Our son paid the ultimate price for someone else’s recklessness.’
Marcy added that she will be ‘showing up to every hearing because Nathaniel’s voice was stolen, and we are now his voice’.
‘We continue to fight for justice and accountability.’
Marcy also launched the Nathaniel’s Light campaign which seeks to create legislation that will make it a federal crime to harm or kill a minor through fentanyl possession.
She is seeking legislative change that will ‘hold people like Christina accountable’ by ‘closing the loopholes in the laws’ surrounding lethal drugs.
Marcy described baseball loving Nathaniel as ‘smart, funny, loving, and full of life’. She will be ‘showing up to every hearing because Nathaniel’s voice was stolen, and we are now his voice’
Nathaniel ‘paid the ultimate price for someone else’s recklessness’, his mother said
There is ‘no clear federal charge for causing a child’s death by fentanyl exposure’, Marcy explained, noting that prosecutors must ‘rely on light charges like child endangerment or involuntary manslaughter, even when a child dies’.
‘Child endangerment charges are not enough. Mental disorder diversion should not be an excuse,’ Marcy said of Alvarez’s case.
‘There is no justice for Nathaniel. He should have been safe in his home.’
The Nathaniel’s Light campaign also looks to ban the use of mental health diversion programs in cases where a child dies from exposure to lethal drugs and add sentencing enhancements for offenders.
