A man who gave his baby Benadryl for 'alone time' with his wife has been convicted of manslaughter.
Adam Canales Jr. from Texas has been convicted following the death of his two-month-old daughter, Athena Brigida-Kay Canales, in July 2021.
Prosecutors argued the father has administered the infant with a dose of Benadryl that led to the girl's death in a bid to gain some 'quality time' with his wife, Sarah Canales, who also faces manslaughter charges.
District Attorney Sunshine Stanek argued that the father 'made a habit' of giving his children over-the-counter, sleep-inducing allergy medicine when the parents were tired and wanted 'adult time'.
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Stanek slammed his actions as 'selfish and reckless,' according to the Lubbock-Avalanche Journal.
"This defendant was so selfish and reckless in his actions that he caused the death of Athena," she said, adding: "They made a habit of giving their kids, including Athena, medicine to make them sleep. When they were tired and just wanted adult time to themselves — they dosed her.”
However, Canales' attorney Kristopher Mincey argued that the death was accidental, adding that a lot had been going on in their Idalou home, near Lubbock, while raising six children.
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Mincey also said Canales and his wife had failed to communicate that day that they had each administered Benadryl to the infant on separate occasions. He argued the mistake was fatal but unintentional.
Canales Jr. was convicted in Lubbock County on Thursday (August 28) and is waiting sentencing. He faces up to 20 years in prison, reports KCBD 11. His wife, Sarah Canales, is now standing trial separately on the same charge.
Lubbock County Sheriff's officers responded to a report of an unresponsive child in the family's home on July 11, 2024, at around 4pm local time.
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According to an arrest warrant obtained by KLBK at the time, Athena was found dead upon their arrival.
Cops also reportedly found a variety of drugs in the home, including cough syrups with dextromethorphan and diphenhydramine products like NyQuil and ZzzQuil, adds La Voce di New York.
Canales Jr. initially denied giving the drug to the child but later admitted the offense.
An autopsy report revealed Athena died of 'mixed drug toxicity,' the warrant adds, with diphenhydramine levels deemed too high for an infant to survive.
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The active ingredient in Benandryl is an antihistamine that can be sedating, but in infants, it's considered highly dangerous.
The FDC and CDC warn that it shouldn't be administered to children under two without medical supervision with even relatively small overdoses triggering heart arrhythmias, coma and/or seizures which lead to death.
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