NY - Elijaha Santana, 2, & David Maldonado, 1, murdered, Yonkers, 29 July 2005

The Yonkers parents charged with drowning their two toddlers in scalding bath water wanted to wash the boys because they were "sticky" from lollipops, a family friend revealed yesterday.

New details of the boys' horrific deaths came as Westchester officials fired a child protective services worker yesterday for failing to adequately supervise the couple.

Child welfare authorities had been investigating the family for abuse in the months leading up to the deaths of 2-year-old Elijaha Santana and 1-year-old David Maldonado Jr., officials said. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/story/333629p-285053c.html

A Yonkers couple admitted in court on Wednesday that they were responsible for the scalding deaths of their two toddlers, who became trapped in a steamy bathroom as the drug-addicted adults nodded off.

David Maldonado Sr., 32, and Luz Arroyo, 26, pleaded guilty in Westchester County Court in the deaths of Elijaha Santana, 2, and David Maldonado Jr., 1, who perished July 29 of hyperthermia and scalding burns.

The pattern of burns showed that the older boy had tried to stand on his tiptoes to avoid the hot water when it flooded over the bathtub, prosecutors said.

Maldonado Sr., who lived with Arroyo and was the younger boy's father, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree manslaughter and one count of weapon possession for a gun found in the apartment. Arroyo, the mother of both boys, pleaded guilty to two counts of criminally negligent homicide.

District Attorney Janet DiFiore said Maldonado admitted that he fell into a drug-induced sleep after turning on the hot water and leaving the children in the bathroom unsupervised, knowing that the bathroom door was damaged and difficult to open.

The case resembles the New York City case of 7-year-old Nixzmary Brown, who prosecutors say was tortured and beaten to death at home this month by her stepfather. Her mother also has been charged; both have pleaded not guilty.

In both cases, the families were known to child welfare agencies and the deaths have prompted calls for better tracking of such children. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has pledged more funding and said he would add retired police officers and former assistant district attorneys to field offices to provide a law enforcement presence.

Judge Richard Molea set April 11 for sentencing. Maldonado faces a maximum five to 15 years in prison, Arroyo 15 months to four years.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--childrenburned0125jan25,0,5562749.story

I dont think the punishment for this crime is harsh enough.

This is sickening!!! Something has got to be done about these people getting slaps on the wrist. For crying out loud, they tortured those poor children!!! :furious: :banghead:

There is just no excuse for animals like these. These poor children. I can not help but to think of the pain and fear they were going through.

The original articles stated the boys drowned, and then later the articles state the boys were scalded to death.

This is the third story I've read this week where children can actually die in a bath run with tap water. That's too hot. Really, that's TOO HOT to be legal.

I don't mean to stick up for parents who are so grotesquely negligent that they run a bath for the kids and then fall asleep, but this isn't the same thing as torturing children to death. This is just drug addicted self-absorption.

I take a shower every morning in the hottest setting in my shower. It's hot, but it certainly won't kill you.

This week, that's three stories of kids who were killed in tap water. Why in the blazes is the water heater set so hot?

In our old house the water got so hot that it would scald a child to death, and or son was about 2 years old and i made my hubby do whatever it took to turn it down which it never would, and so i would freak out all the time just thinking , what if my son woke up and wondering in there, God forbid and turned the water on he would definatly have severe burns. I Just am at a lost for words at how parents are these days, my God i look at these babies and children and i just want to take them all with me and give them kisses, my heart aches for these neglected children its so unfair!!!

I read these types of threads and I begin to feel physically ill. What could make a parent DO such things??

OneLostGrl said:

I read these types of threads and I begin to feel physically ill. What could make a parent DO such things??

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I know i do too, i swear i cry sometimes because i look at my little boy and know the love i feel for him and the way i try to keep him safe and protect him, children are so precious. I think they are a gift from God and to treat them like trash is horrible. These people IMO should have to sit in a scalding hot tub/shower!!!

I don't understand why the male is getting a lesser sentence than the woman. It seems to me they are equally guilty.

I can't let myself think about what the babies went through. I don't know how these parents can even stand to be around themselves. Glad they pled guilty....because they are. No sense in having a long drawn out trial when the end result would be guilty anyway. I hope these two weren't allowed bail of any type.

I believe if you are a known drug user then the state should step in and take your kids. The drugs are their first love...not their kids. If the state had been on their toes these babies would still be alive.

Firing the social worker won't bring the babies back but she deserved to be fired. If every state was able to pay a better wage they would have people that really care about kids apply for jobs. If each state had the money to hire more social workers the system wouldn't be such a mess. They have over loaded social workers for a hundred years....nothing ever changes. They hire the least amount of social workers that they can get by with and expect them to be able to handle huge loads. It's like anywhere else in the system. Kids don't really matter. They can't work and pay taxes so they aren't important. Just like the mentally ill and the elderly.

GreenEyedGirl said:

This is sickening!!! Something has got to be done about these people getting slaps on the wrist. For crying out loud, they tortured those poor children!!! :furious: :banghead:

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Ditto!

JellyBean

OneLostGrl said:

I read these types of threads and I begin to feel physically ill. What could make a parent DO such things??

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I just can't read these threads, read the newspaper, or watch the local news any longer, but the title of this thread caused me to check. Now I wish I hadn't. It is sickening.

David Maldonado

Housed: Adirondack
Date Received: 04/25/2006

Offense: 2nd Degree Manslaughter
Offense: Criminal Possession of a Weapon
Sentence: 5 - 15 years

Parole Eligibility Date: 07/24/2010
Conditional Release Date: 07/24/2015
Maximum Expiration Date: 07/24/2020
==================================
Luz Arroyo

Date Received: 04/19/2006
Date Paroled: 03/24/2008

Offense: Criminal Negligent Homicide
Sentence: 1 year 4 months - 4 years