Mom Of Baby Who Died While In His Father's Care, Speaks Out
EAST HAVEN, CT — Struggling with excruciating pain, grief, and nightmares, Elizabeth Portocarrero hadn’t slept since Sunday when her seven-month-old baby Angel Josiah, born on Valentine’s Day, was declared dead. Her boy was left unattended in a tub while under the care of his father in his East Haven home.
Portocarrero, 32, is the sole provider for her children, both boys, Angel and his three-year-old brother, she said. Their father will babysit the boys at times when she’s at work. He is unemployed, she said. She is a store manager in Stamford, working 40 hours plus a week.
“The truth of the matter is I am a hard-working single mom and the provider for my children. My life is work and the kids. Their dad doesn’t give me a penny. The only help from him is watching the kids in his mother’s house. I left my children with the person I thought I could trust.”
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Patch is not releasing the identity of the father as no charges have been filed, police said, though it’s still an active investigation.
Sunday night, at around 9 p.m., firefighters and police went to a Redfield Avenue address for a pediatric emergency call. When they got there, first responders found the seven-month-old infant “unresponsive after being left unattended in a bathtub,” police said. “He left both my children unattended,” Portocarrero told Patch. “I don’t know for how long, but his negligence and irresponsibility is the reason my son is not here now. I want justice for my son.”
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Medics from the East Haven Fire Department attempted life-saving measures before the infant was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital.
Portocarrero was on her way to East Haven from her Stamford job when she got a call from the Angel’s aunt.
“It was 9:05. She told me to hurry to the house because something happened to the baby. She told me she heard screaming and saw ambulances and immediately called me. I was already on my way from work and rushing in that direction,” Portocarrero said. “Then, she called back and said to just race to the hospital. She told me (that the children’s grandmother) was doing CPR on him. She said, ‘He was in the bathtub.’”
Portocarrero was terrified.
When she got to Yale New Haven Hospital’s York Street pediatric emergency department, she “heard the sirens” and realized she’d gotten there first.
“They brought me into the room. They were working on trying to resuscitate him. It felt like an eternity. Then, this guy is kneeling in front of me and he says, ‘We have to call it. Time of death is 9:56 p.m.,’” she said, her voice quaking between deep sobs.
“Despite the best efforts of the East Haven Fire Department, AMR ambulance medics, and hospital staff, the child tragically died,” police said Sunday night.
Portocarrero said that the “fact that Angel’s father didn’t even have the decency to get into the ambulance with his son” hurt deeply. “His sister went with my baby, and I’m grateful for that,” she said. “I don’t understand how he left them alone. I would never leave them alone. Never.”
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Her loss, the pain, and the grief she’s feeling, she will not display around her three-year-old son. He was a witness.
“In front of him, I can’t grieve. I cannot cry. I have to be strong.”
A single mom with $70 to her name, she needs help to bury her son.
“I just paid rent and have $70 to my name,” she said. She lives in Ansonia. “I am literally the main provider for my children. But my managers and my staff are incredible people. Everyone is really supportive. They all know my kids. They love my children. So this isn’t a loss just for me. My family, friends, and co-workers are all grieving.”
And while her managers have told her to take all the time she needs before returning to work, she does not have the money to bury her baby.
Her niece Leslie Baca set up a GoFundMe on Portocarrero’s behalf to help pay for “memorials and after-life services, as well as any financial help to both my aunt and her other son.”
While she was at the hospital in pieces, she was asked about organ donation.
“This was at first the hardest decision to make. If my son’s life was cut short, agreeing to donate his organs, so no other mother has to go through what I’m going through? I said yes. It was so hard, but it was so important. His life has meaning.”
Wednesday, East Haven police Capt. Joseph M. Murgo shared the latest on the case.
“Preliminary investigation indicates that Angel was in the care of family members in East Haven at the time of the incident. It should be noted that Angel’s primary residence was in Ansonia with his mother who was not on scene during this incident and was not involved during this terribly tragic event. This case remains under investigation, and further updates will be provided as they become available. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Angel’s family and will remain in contact with them during this incredibly difficult process.”
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