Baby found dead at apartment day care after large dose of Benadryl, TN cops say

A 6-month-old girl was found unconscious at an unlicensed day care with nearly three times the adult dose of Benadryl in her system, Tennessee authorities said.

The day care operator, 35-year-old Lourdes Hernandez, has now been indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child neglect and operating a childcare agency without a license, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said March 26.

The charges come more than a year after Madison Alverto-Coto’s mom drove to Hernandez’s apartment to pick up her daughter, only to find the girl unresponsive, police said.

Children were crying in the apartment as Hernandez put water on the infant’s head, then the girl’s mom called 911, according to police.

Hernandez told police she had put the baby down for a nap, but she couldn’t wake her back up, WZTV and WKRN reported. The woman had 10 children under the age of 3 in the apartment that day, according to police.

The infant was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead on Feb. 8, 2024, police said. An autopsy revealed she had a large dose in her system of Diphenhydramine, which is the antihistamine in Benadryl.

Hernandez moved to a different apartment, where police said they found several children at the time of her arrest.

Davidson County records show she was booked in jail March 21 on $150,000 bond.

This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Baby found dead at apartment day care after large dose of Benadryl, TN cops say."