Baby Phoenix tragedy: Infant dies of fentanyl poisoning as addict dad given custody over 'racial justice'
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA: Baby Phoenix, 3 months, was poisoned by drugs found alongside her bottle, while she was in the care of her father, a known drug addict.
The incident took place in spite of repeated warnings from neighbors, as Santa Clara County had recently changed its 'threshold' for removal of children from houses, citing a commitment to 'racial justice.'
How did baby Phoenix die?
Phoenix died from a fentanyl and methamphetamine overdose, reported the Daily Mail.
Law enforcement officials who discovered the newborn unconscious also found fentanyl, broken glass pipes, and aluminum foil next to her bottle in the kitchen of the home on Spinnaker Way.
Who was baby Phoenix's dad?
David Castro, 38, had eight previous drug convictions, as well as had older children taken away from him.
In the case of Phoenix, officials claimed that they were unaware of "a single example where a child was determined to be 'unsafe,'" and subsequently left her in Castro's care.
According to The Mercury News, when the baby was lying on a white ambulance stretcher, seemingly deceased, Castro was sitting on the ground, crying so hard his eyes were puffy and nearly shut.
Castro was charged with felony child neglect and possession of a controlled substance, with his case still pending.
His neighbor Sandra Mack, who had warned the authorities, reportedly told the Daily Mail, "He was open with me about it. He let me know he was addicted to fentanyl and he's been doing it for a long time. If you can't take care of one child properly, how can you take care of any properly? I just thought that was absurd."
Who was baby Phoenix's mom?
Emily De La Cerda, 39, was the mother of the deceased newborn, who met Castro at an addicts' recovery program.
At the time of Phoenix's birth, Emily suffered from withdrawal and was in drug treatment at the time of the baby's death. She herself passed away three months after her child, also from a fentanyl overdose.
What did the social workers and legal counsel say about baby Phoenix's custody?
Social workers had raised alarm about lawyers overriding child welfare decisions, bringing the county under investigation.
After county whistleblowers highlighted multiple cases of children removed by law enforcement and then quickly returned, state social services started looking for answers.
The county told the state its change of approach was "based on increasingly clear evidence demonstrating the significant and lasting trauma children experience with even brief periods of removal from their family."
Dan Little, the director of the county's Department of Family and Children's Services, had told his social workers in 2021 they were now expected to show commitment "to racial justice and to healing the historical wounds underlying disproportionate representation of children of color in the child welfare system."
It was November 4 that James Williams, who was lead counsel until July, admitted that "the county dropped the ball."
"My opinion is that baby Phoenix shouldn't have been in the care of the father – period."
Though he confessed that the county had botched its assessment of Castro's fitness to look after Phoenix, he refused to clarify if counsel had overruled social workers in the case.
"We want to improve, we want to learn, we are deeply troubled. There's nobody I've talked to who isn't incredibly affected by the death of a three-month-old baby."
Steve Baron, a member of the Santa Clara County Child Abuse Prevention Council, siad that it is an "idealistic goal" to keep families together, but social service agencies are "rolling the dice on the safety of the child."