A Lindenhurst couple was indicted for allegedly failing to obtain medical care for two of their four children for several years, leaving them in critical condition.
On October 2, 2024, the youngest of the defendants’ four children was allegedly brought to a doctor for what was reported as a concern for constipation. The child, then four years old, had allegedly not received medical care since they were two months old. Upon examination, the child was allegedly found to be in a medically critical state and was sent to Good Samaritan University Medical Center for emergency treatment.
(The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is not further identifying the defendants in order to protect the identities of the child victims.)
The child was later determined to be in heart failure, allegedly as a result of chronic iron deficiency anemia caused by a diet consisting primarily of cow’s milk mixed with strawberry syrup. Because of the severity of the child’s condition, he was transferred to Cohen Children’s Medical Center and thereafter to NYU Langone Health in Manhattan for a heart transplant.
When investigators visited the family’s home, they allegedly found the defendants’ nine-year-old son malnourished with pale skin and wearing a diaper. The child was brought to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was determined to be in a medically critical state and severely anemic.
That child had also allegedly not received any medical care since the age of two and had never been enrolled in school. He was determined to have suffered damage to his heart, including an enlarged left ventricle, allegedly as a result of chronic iron deficiency anemia caused by a diet consisting primarily of strawberry milk through a baby bottle.
The couple’s two older sons, ages 11 and 12 at the time, were enrolled in school and received medical care. Both were determined to require medical or dental treatment for conditions allegedly resulting from inadequate care.
On July 30, 2026, the defendants were each arraigned on the indictment before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro for the following charges:
- two counts of Assault in the First Degree, Class B violent felonies
- two counts of Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, Class D felonies
- three counts of Assault in the Third Degree, Class A misdemeanors
- eight counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Class A misdemeanors
“These defendants allegedly neglected two of their children for a prolonged period of time, resulting in devastating and entirely preventable medical consequences,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “When parents abandon their duty to care for a child, and the child then suffers serious physical harm as a result, our office will aggressively pursue justice on their behalf.”
Ambro ordered each defendant held on $500,000 cash, $1,000,000 bond, or $5,000,000 partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Both defendants face up to 50 years in prison if convicted of the top count.