Florida Mom Gave Four Different Stories After Baby Died With Drugs in Stomach

MIAMI, FL- A mother is behind bars after an investigation involving months over the death of a nine-month-old baby led to her arrest. It took over a year for Natalia Munoz Paulino, 26, to face the music in the death of her baby on July 2, 2024, the Miami Herald reports. 

On that date, emergency responders responded to an apartment in the Hammocks area of Miami, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. The baby boy was transported to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:39 p.m. Investigators allege that the baby died after ingesting cocaine and methamphetamine, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said. 

According to authorities, the apartment was ill-kempt, with trash, old food, and used hygiene products scattered throughout. Investigators determined that the apartment was not safe for children, and that they stepped in when they witnessed the baby’s older sibling drinking baby oil while the mother stood by and did nothing. 

Munoz Paulino gave authorities conflicting explanations for what happened to her son. She first claimed she had fallen asleep while holding the child and found him unresponsive. She later told investigators the child hit his head while playing, then amended her story when she told the Department of Children and Families he drowned in the bathtub. She changed the story a fourth time when she told the baby’s father he choked. 

The arrest warrant affidavit noted that the baby’s father told investigators that Munoz Paulinoi used drugs, including meth and cocaine, and he had previously seen the substances in her home. He was working out of state at the time of the baby’s death, the Miami Herald reported. 

The medical examiner determined the child died of child neglect while ruling the cause as homicide. The autopsy showed the boy had eggshells, feathers, and lethal amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine in his stomach. The report ruled out suffocation or choking. 

It was concluded that the baby had actually ingested the drugs and they were not passed from the mother through breastfeeding, since the baby was already on solid food and formula. 

Munoz Paulino was arrested on Monday and questioned by detectives. She was unable to provide cogent details about what occurred in the hours before the baby’s death, according to the sheriff’s office.

Law & Crime reported that Munoz Paulino told detectives that the child was prone to putting foreign objects in his mouth. Munoz Perez was charged with second-degree murder and was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. She has pleaded not guilty.