San Jose man pleaded not guilty Friday to felony child endangerment and misdemeanor drug possession charges over the fentanyl overdose of his 3-month-old daughter Phoenix Castro, whose death led to reforms and calls for an overhaul of the Santa Clara County agency tasked with protecting children.
In court filings submitted late last month, prosecutors upped the ante on David Castro, adding sentencing enhancements for great bodily harm, which could extend his possible sentence to a maximum of 10 years in prison if convicted on all counts.
Police released a mugshot of David Anthony Castro, who had a history of drug problems and arrests before the county’s Department of Family and Children’s Services sent him home in February with his newborn baby, Phoenix. When she died three months later of a fentanyl overdose, prosecutors charged him with felony child endangerment. (San Jose Police Department)
Castro’s attorney, Mishya Singh, questioned why her client’s sentence was enhanced now, when investigators haven’t collected much new evidence since they arrested Castro back in October. Singh declined to elaborate on how Castro was faring in jail, but said that his not-guilty plea was standard for most defendants facing criminal charges.
“Yes baby Phoenix died, but the issue is whether or not my client is criminally responsible,” Singh said.
The next step in the case is a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 16, in which the baby’s grandmother, Rita De La Cerda, has been called to appear as one of several possible witnesses for the prosecution. Phoenix’s mother Emily De La Cerda, who wasn’t living in the home when the baby died, also died from a fentanyl overdose four months after the infant’s death.
It’s unclear how many witnesses the defense will call, if any. Rita De La Cerda has largely refrained from speaking publicly about her granddaughter’s death, which has roiled Santa Clara County’s child welfare agency after it failed to remove baby Phoenix from her father’s care despite numerous warning signs.
In the months before Phoenix’s death, a social worker warned his superiors that the baby could die if left left in the care of her parents, but those warnings went unheeded. Last month, a Santa Clara County supervisor called for an overhaul of the county’s child welfare system at a rare, congressional-style public hearing held to investigate the county’s role in handling Phoenix’s case.
Two other San Jose parents, Derek Rayo and Kelly Richardson, who are both facing murder charges over the fentanyl death of their 19-month-old daughter Winter Rayo, are expected to enter their own pleas at a hearing March 9.
Meanwhile, baby Phoenix’s family, plans to hold a candlelight vigil outside Santa Jose City Hall on Jan. 27 in commemoration of both Phoenix and her mother.
“This has been the most horrific thing that has ever happened in my lifetime,” Phoenix’s great uncle Ed Morillo said about Emily and Phoenix’s deaths after the hearing Friday. Morillo said that Castro, who told neighbors he struggled with fentanyl addiction, “thought he could burn the candle at both ends — and look what it got him.”
“I believe that justice will be served,” he said.
