A babysitter pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to murdering a Staten Island toddler on Sunday.
Gloria Fields, 31, was charged with murder, assault, aggravated sex abuse and acting in a manner injurious to a child in the death of 16-month-old Anthony Delgado.
Fields allegedly slammed Anthony’s head on the floor while he was strapped into his stroller and struck the toddler in the head multiple times, according to a criminal complaint. The toddler’s injuries included multiple skull fractures, hemorrhaging, intestinal perforations and internal bleeding.
The complaint also said that Fields used heroin and smoked marijuana while Anthony was in her care.
“For 48 hours, this depraved woman systematically tortured a 16-month-old baby,” District Attorney Michael E. McMahon said in a statement. “No creature on this earth, let alone an innocent child, deserves to undergo such horrific torment. I want to thank the NYPD for their efforts in investigating this case and I want to ensure the public that my office intends to aggressively prosecute this atrocious crime.”
Cops responded to 195 Steuben St. in Park Hill just after 10 p.m. on Sunday, where they said Anthony Delgado was suffering a cardiac condition. A firefighter was already performing CPR on the boy when cops arrived.
The child was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital North, where he later died.
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson on Tuesday determined that the cause of death was blunt force injuries to the head and torso. The child’s death has been deemed a homicide.
Fields was remanded to Rikers Island and is due back in court on March 21.
