Mom Charged with Second-Degree Murder for Giving M&Ms to Allergic Daughter
Prosecutors have upgraded the charge against a New York mom accused of giving her allergic child M&Ms with traces of peanuts.
The woman, Veronica Cirella, has been charged with second-degree murder, report the Associated Press and WABC. She was previously accused of manslaughter in the death of her 8-year-old daughter, Julie.
The girl, who had cerebral palsy, was found dead hours before she was to be a flower girl in a friend’s wedding, the stories say. Cirella attempted suicide the same day. She left a note saying she gave the child Benadryl when she realized the candy had peanut traces.
But prosecutors point to another part of the note that reads: “I had to give her a better life, which was to give her back to heaven. She does not deserve to be in pain whatsoever. I don’t mind going to hell because I took my life to give her a better life which is in heaven where she can be free.”
Defense lawyer William Keahon says the note merely indicates Cirella was a distraught woman who believed she accidentally killed her daughter. He also says the medical examiner has not determined the cause of death.
