A 33-year-old Texas father, Adam Canales, was convicted of the 2021 death of his 2-month-old daughter, Athena. Canales had been giving her multiple drugs, including Benadryl, to have “quality time” with his wife, who will also stand trial for manslaughter.
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As reported by Everything Lubbock, Canales was found guilty of manslaughter on Thursday, August 28. He had inadvertently caused his daughter, Athena, to overdose on a mix of drugs.
“This defendant was so selfish and reckless in his actions that he caused the death of Athena,” Lubbock County District Attorney Sunshine Stanek said in her opening statements, as per the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “They made a habit of giving their kids, including Athena, medicine to make them sleep.”
The incident occurred, according to court documents, on July 11, 2021. Local authorities arrived at the Canales household and found that Athena, a newborn girl, had passed away.
At the time, Canales claimed that the baby was crying. So, he put her to sleep in her bed, only giving her “gas drops.” However, the baby’s autopsy revealed she had died of “mixed drug toxicity.” Furthermore, a toxicology report detailed that the baby had Benadryl, ZzzQuil, and dextromethorphan in her system.
Admission Of Guilt
Adam Canales, when confronted with the truth, revealed that he gave Benadryl to Athena at least twice a day. Not only that, but he admitted, according to court records, that he knew he wasn’t supposed to give Benadryl to an infant child.
Reportedly, Canales admitted to giving drugs to the girl so that he could have intimate, “quality time” with his wife, Sarah.
Canales’s defense argued in court that the child’s death was accidental and not manslaughter. They stated that a lack of proper communication regarding the given medication led to the tragic outcome.
“He had seen everyone else do it,” Kristopher Mincey, Canales’s attorney, said. “He didn’t think death would occur from his actions.”
DA Stanek, however, argued that Canales, as previously mentioned, knew that what he was doing was dangerous and lied about it.
“It is extremely reckless behavior that resulted in the ridiculously senseless death of a little girl at the hands of her own parents,” Stanek said.
Adam Caneles will be sentenced on a later date. Sarah Canales, the deceased infant’s mother, is also facing manslaughter charges. Her trial is pending.