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Elida Catalan-Medina was charged earlier this week with aggravated manslaughter and illegally practicing medicine for giving baby Genesis a fatal dose of magnesium, olive oil and water to treat constipation, court documents show.
Enma Medina, 38, who lives across town, took the infant to Medina-Ramos's home last Dec. 7 because the infant was sick, according to an affidavit on file in Superior Court in Hackensack.
Medina-Ramos, who works as a waitress, apparently “massaged [Genesis's] stomach and treated her with a liquid substance via oral syringe, which she stated would possibly alleviate constipation,” Palisades Park Detective Frank DeCicco wrote.
The mother called 911 after the baby began convulsing, the affidavit says.
Genesis was later pronounced dead -- less than a week from her first birthday -- at Hackensack University Medical Center.
Borough detectives reportedly found "numerous" syringes and several boxes of medications and vitamins in Medina-Ramos's East Harriet Avenue apartment.
She admitted that she wasn't licensed to practice medicine in the United States but had been treating people for several years -- among them, Medina's son, who's now 15, the affidavit says
The baby's reaction was something she reportedly told investigators "has never happened to her in all her time of treating children."
A Cliffside Park merchant who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Medina-Ramos, who attends a Pentecostal church in his borough, had been known to treat people with health problems.
Toxicology tests for Genesis took some weeks to come back. The results showed the baby had 22 mg/dL of magnesium in her system, according to the criminal complaint. The National Institutes of Health standard for magnesium causing a coma and/or cardiac arrest is only 15 mg/dL.
After receiving the results, detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Major Crimes Unit charged Medina-Ramos on Monday, Feb. 14, with aggravated manslaughter, child endangerment and the unlicensed practice of medicine, Prosecutor Mark Musella said. She remained held Thursday in the Bergen County Jail.
The mother, Enma Medina of Commercial Avenue, was released after being charged with child endangerment.
She and Medina-Ramos aren't related, investigators said.
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ORIGINAL STORY: A 73-year-old Palisades Park woman was charged with killing an 11-month-old girl.
According to Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella:
"On Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at approximately 8:30 a.m., the Palisades Park Police Department responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting an eleven-month-old child having a medical episode. Responding officers found the child unconscious and not breathing. The child was transported by ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center where she was pronounced deceased."
After receiving the results of toxicology tests, detectives from Musella's Major Crimes Unit determined that 73-year-old waitress Elida Ofelia Medina-Ramos administered medical care – approved by the child's mother, Enma Medina, 38 – that resulted in the baby’s death.
They charged Medina-Ramos on Monday, Feb. 14, with the unauthorized practice of medicine in addition to aggravated manslaughter and child endangerment, the prosecutor said.
He didn't say what investigators believe she gave the baby.
Medina-Ramos, of East Harriet Avenue, remained held in the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, Musella said.
His detectives also charged Medina, of Commercial Avenue, with child endangerment and released her on a summons, Musella said.
The women weren't believed to be related, responders said.
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ALSO SEE: The search for a hit-and-run driver who severely injured a 60-year-old Palisades Park woman crossing a borough street last November ended with the arrest of a Fort Lee man, authorities said. READ MORE....
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