NICHOLAS ODZE - 4 yo (2009)/ Charged: Mother; Raisa Bernabe - Coral Springs FL

About time! I don't suppose we'll hear from her again if she gets bail.
Justice for Nicholas. I wonder how she got the black eye?

kiwimom wrote:About time! I don't suppose we'll hear from her again if she gets bail.
Justice for Nicholas. I wonder how she got the black eye?

This is very good news, don't think she'll be out for a long, long time. Don't know how she got the black eye but would be willing to give her a matching one on the other side!!

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/coral-springs/fl-mom-charged-kid-death-20100722,0,2298271.story

Authorities have filed a manslaughter charge against a mother whose
4-year-old son overdosed
on prescription sleep medication she allegedly
gave to the child.Police arrested Raisa Bernabe, 44, of Parkland, on Thursday.The
Broward Medical Examiner's Office ruled that Bernabe's son, Nicholas
Odze, died from an overdose of eszopiclone,
a prescription sleep aid
sold under the brand name Lunesta.
Toxicology tests conducted as
part of the todder's autopsy also found the child,
shortly before his
death, had ingested ibuprofen and the prescription pain medications
oxycodone and oxymorphone, according to a medical examiner report.Police worked closely with Sepracor, the company that manufactures Lunesta,
to determine precisely that it was the eszopiclone that killed the child, said Coral Springs Police Sgt. Joe McHugh.Officials at Sepracor could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.Bernabe
had told detectives she gave the toddler a Lunesta pill the night of
Sept. 9
because he had not been able to stay asleep the previous two
nights, police said.The child's father, Allan Odze, found the toddler unresponsive in his bed the next morning, police said."The family is devastated. This is a tragedy that just doesn't end," said attorney Spencer Aronfeld.Soon after the death of their son, Bernabe, who at the time worked as an assistant
to the Coconut Creek city manager, and Odze, a retired police officer from New York, stopped living together, Aronfeld said.Bernabe has also struggled with severe emotional issues and was recently hospitalized, he said."No
matter how the criminal accusations shake out, they don't want to lose
sight of the fact
that an innocent child died," Aronfeld said about the
boy's relatives.The Medical Examiner's Office classified the
toddler's death a homicide, based on
Bernabe's statement to police that
she deliberately gave her son the Lunesta.Detectives searched the
family's apartment on Sept. 10, after the boy died, and
collected 68
prescription pill bottles, according to court records.
Nearly all the
medications, including the Lunesta, had been prescribed to Odze.Bernabe
had told police that shortly after giving the Lunesta pill to her son,
she found him near several opened prescription pill bottles in her
bedroom, according to court records.It was unclear from the
records what the child's condition was that night or
how many pills he
may have ingested in addition to the Lunesta.Eszopiclone, a hypnotic used to treat insomnia, can lower breathing and
metabolism
and be lethal if taken in too high of a dosage, according to
Sepracor,
which is based in Massachusetts. The drug has not been tested in
children
and is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
for pediatric use.In addition to manslaughter, Bernabe also has
been charged with delivery of a
controlled substance to a minor and
knowing sale or transfer of prescription drug to an unauthorized person, authorities said.She was being held Thursday night in the Broward Main Jail on $21,000 bail.

TomTerrific0420 wrote:

OH yeah Finally.....That woman put us through hell not to mention what she did to Nic. RIP sweet Nic

http://sheriff.org/apps/arrest/details.cfm?id=974ab393-6352-48e7-8912-677778a9f61f&key=251DCEC088ABD079321EBAA1ADE465F8

Bail set for Parkland mom charged in sleeping pill overdose death of son



Snipped......

After being charged with manslaughter for the death of her only child, bail was set at $21,000 for Raisa Bernabe at her first court appearance Friday.
Bernabe, 44, of Parkland, was ordered by Broward Magistrate Judge John "Jay" Hurley to surrender an expired passport and is not allowed to travel beyond South Florida.
She was arrested by police Thursday after the Broward Medical Examiner's Office ruled that her son Nicholas Odze, 4, died in September, 2009, from an overdose of eszopiclone, a prescription sleep aid sold under the brand name Lunesta.
Toxicology tests conducted as part of the boy's autopsy also found that shortly before his death he had ingested ibuprofen and the prescription pain substances oxycodone and oxymorphone, according to a medical examiner report.

snipped

Bernabe was represented in court by criminal defense attorney Sebastian Balliro.
"I'm shocked but not surprised that the state attorney has chosen to file these charges at this time, to charge her how they have," Balliro said. "Everyone is jumping to conclusions about what was done in that house. She is entitled to a fair examination of the circumstances. This woman has already suffered the loss of her child."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/fl-mom-charged-kid-death-20100722,0,5818878.story

Son overdoses on sleep medication, mother charged

The Associated Press

Published: Friday, July 23, 2010 at 10:27 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, July 23, 2010 at 10:27 a.m.

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. - A South Florida mother whose 4-year-old son overdosed on prescription sleep medication is being held in jail on manslaughter charges.


Jail records show 44-year-old Raisa Bernabe had her first court appearance Friday. She was being held in the Broward County Jail on $21,000. The family's attorney calls the charges inappropriate. Spencer Aronfeld says the family is standing behind the mother and they believe she would never intentionally harm the child.
The medical examiner ruled the boy died from an overdose of a sleep medication. His death was ruled a homicide.
Bernabe told police she gave her son the pill because he was having trouble sleeping for several nights.
Bernabe faces other charges including delivery of a controlled substance to a minor.
---

The Lunesta.... the Lunesta.... everybody's flappin' their gums abut the Lunesta! Grrrr!

What about the other half a dozen drugs he had in his system.... They didn't just jump out of the pill bottles and down his throat. You imbeciles... The Lunesta was just the one that pushed the poor boy's body over the edge...
She's guilty of all of them....Grrrr!

Mom Charged with Manslaughter Deserves Presumption of Innocence

July 23, 2010

Posted In: Defective Drug , Legislative Updates and Legal News , Wrongful Death By Aronfeld Trial Lawyers on July 23, 2010 10:44 AM | Permalink


Raisa Bernabe is a mother. And, she is, before you read another word, entitled to the presumption of innocence. As the family's attorney, it is important that everyone remember that an innocent little boy's life ended that day and that Raisa Bernabe is an American citizen entitled to a fair trial and the constitutional right to the presumption of innocence.

Cases are not decided in the media, they are decided by sworn testimony in a court of law. No one should come to any conclusions about a mother charged with manslaughter, other than her innocence, from what is heard in the media.
Prosecutors have leaked information about the death of her 4-year-old son, Nicholas Odze and alleged that she gave him, a Lunesta, a sleeping pill. They have made public, toxicology tests conducted as part of the toddler's autopsy. This is unfair and prejudices her ability to have a fair trial.
As Gerry Spence, so brilliantly taught me, if we allow the destruction of the rights of any accused, none of us are ever safe from the law that stands to protect us.

http://www.floridainjurylawyer-blog.com/2010/07/mom-charged-with-manslaughter.html

Ahem...PROSECUTORS did NOT leak the info...That is BS...

The original tox report was a matter of public record, and even if it hadn't of been, Raisa herself was spouting off all over the internet...

Here included....

I know all our members here are aware of that fact.

Here comes the defense lawyer-spin....I had a bad feeling about this...

TomTerrific0420 wrote:The Lunesta.... the Lunesta.... everybody's flappin' their gums abut the Lunesta! Grrrr!

What about the other half a dozen drugs he had in his system.... They didn't just jump out of the pill bottles and down his throat. You imbeciles... The Lunesta was just the one that pushed the poor boy's body over the edge...
She's guilty of all of them....Grrrr!

I agree Tom. The other drugs were really powerful. It sounds more like murder than manslaughter to me, but maybe because she admitted giving Nicholas Lunesta and claims she found him later with open pill bottles they don't feel they have a strong enough case for more. With the added charges of passing on prescription drugs etc it looks like they have charged her for every little thing they feel they can get a conviction on. We know from her threats here she is not just a sweet Mom.

kiwimom wrote:

TomTerrific0420 wrote:The Lunesta.... the Lunesta.... everybody's flappin' their gums abut the Lunesta! Grrrr!

What about the other half a dozen drugs he had in his system.... They didn't just jump out of the pill bottles and down his throat. You imbeciles... The Lunesta was just the one that pushed the poor boy's body over the edge...
She's guilty of all of them....Grrrr!

I agree Tom. The other drugs were really powerful. It sounds more like murder than manslaughter to me, but maybe because she admitted giving Nicholas Lunesta and claims she found him later with open pill bottles they don't feel they have a strong enough case for more. With the added charges of passing on prescription drugs etc it looks like they have charged her for every little thing they feel they can get a conviction on. We know from her threats here she is not just a sweet Mom.

---and we know her claim is that he ingested the other pills on his own. As we asked many times, if that was the case why didn't she take him to the ER as soon as that became apparent? Why? Because it didn't happen that way....

Raisa:Totally looks like --> Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of T.L.C.

Headline of the Week: From NBC Miami

Mom Arrested for Putting Child to Sleep - Permanently

TomTerrific0420 wrote:Headline of the Week: From NBC Miami

Mom Arrested for Putting Child to Sleep - Permanently

Sedating children with over-the-counter or prescription medications may be an under-recognized form of abuse according to a well-respected medical publication.
Researchers who looked at data from the National Poison Data System
found an average of 160 cases of 'malicious administration' of
pharmaceuticals to children per year, with 1,439 cases between 2000 and
2008. The study found that 14 percent of cases resulted in injuries and
18 kids died.
Sedatives were the most common drug administered, but parents also gave kids antidepressants, stimulants, and anti-psychotics.
"Anytime you're giving a medication for any other purpose other than
for what it's explicitly prescribed for, you run the risk of harming
your child," said Shan Yin, the author of the report.
"If [parents give kids medicine] for medical a reason, that's one
thing," James Hmurovich, the president and CEO of Prevent Child Abuse
America, added. "If moms are at wit's end and the stress is building up
and they're tired, that's not a good use of over-the-counter
medications.
The findings were reported in the Journal of Pediatrics.

TomTerrific0420 wrote:Headline of the Week: From NBC Miami

Mom Arrested for Putting Child to Sleep - Permanently

Finally....Hoopla is charged

Updated today, FYI:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/23/1743888/mom-accused-of-killing-son-with.html

She is charged with manslaughter of a CHILD!! She should not be able to be bonded out, she should be in on NO BOND/BAIL!!!
This just gets my ire up. This POS and her husband BOTH need to be in JAIL!!

Admin wrote:

TomTerrific0420 wrote:Headline of the Week: From NBC Miami

Mom Arrested for Putting Child to Sleep - Permanently

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Mom-Arrested-for-Putting-Child-to-Sleep---Permanently-99048439.html

(*Snipped by me...) WTH? I thought it was $21K???


The mother also faces delivery of a controlled substance to a minor and knowing sale or transfer of prescription drugs to an unauthorized person.

Bernabe was an assistant in the Coconut Creek city clerk's office and her husband, Alan Odze, is a retired New York police officer.

A police search of the Coral Springs home turned up dozens of bottles of prescription drugs, most of which were prescribed to Odze.

Bernabe is being held on $10,000 bond.

A South Florida mother arrested and charged with manslaughter in the death of her young child was released on bond late Friday.

Raisa Bernabe is accused of giving a prescription drug to her four year
old son Nicholas Odze last September. The boy's father found him
unconscious in their Coral Springs apartment.

She was being held in the Broward County Jail on $21,000 bond. She was released Friday night, Broward Sherriff's Office said.

The Broward Medical Examiner's Office ruled that Nicholas died from an
overdose of eszopiclone, a prescription sleep aid sold under the brand
name Lunesta.

Toxicology tests also found the child had ingested ibuprofen and the
prescription pain substances oxycodone and oxymorphone before his death,
according to a medical examiner report.

According to the police report, Bernabe admitted that she gave her son a
Lunesta pill the night of Sept. 9 because he had not been able to stay
asleep the previous two nights.

The boy's mother also told police that after giving her son the Lunesta pill she left the child and went into the kitchen.

Fifteen minutes later she "found him in the master bedroom with several
open prescription pill bottles." The mother told police she did not know
if the child ingested any of the pills.

The child's father, Allan Odze, found the toddler unresponsive in his bed the next morning, police said.

The Medical Examiner's Office classified the toddler's death a homicide, based on Bernabe's statements.

When detectives search the family's apartment on September 10th, they
found 68 prescription pill bottles, according to court records. Nearly
all the medications, including the Lunesta, had been prescribed to Odze.


The drug has not been tested in children and is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for pediatric use.

In addition to manslaughter, Bernabe also has been charged with delivery
of a controlled substance to a minor and knowing sale or transfer of
prescription drug to an unauthorized person, authorities said.

Oh yuk - I suppose we'll hear from her before too long

I hope not Kiwi. Hopefully, they've confiscated her computer....

Admin wrote:I hope not Kiwi. Hopefully, they've confiscated her computer....

I would imagine she could get access to a computer tho', even if they have taken hers. This is exactly what needs to happen to her. It just irritates me to no end that she was even given bond, she killed her own child, she should be held with NO BOND/BAIL!!