A Texas resident, Adam Canales, 33, has been convicted of manslaughter following his confession of administering Benadryl to his 2-month-old daughter to induce sleep, a practice that ultimately led to her death. Canales and his wife, Sarah Canales, 25, were apprehended in January 2022, several months after their infant daughter’s death due to “mixed drug toxicity,” as revealed by an autopsy report.
Canales confessed to the police that he had been giving his infant daughter Benadryl, despite being aware of the risks associated with administering the drug to infants. During the trial, Lubbock County District Attorney Sunshine Stanek stated that Canales’ motive for drugging his daughter was to ensure she slept, allowing him to spend “quality time” with his wife.
Court records obtained from local CBS affiliate KLBK revealed that both parents confessed to administering various medications to their baby, including Benadryl, ZzzQuil, and dextromethorphan, a children’s multi-symptom cold medicine. Stanek informed the court that the parents regularly drugged their baby to make her sleep.
Kristopher Mincey, Adam Canales’ defense attorney, argued that the couple had not been communicating effectively on the day of the incident about who was administering medication to the baby and when. The defense suggested to the jury that there was significant turmoil in the household on the day the baby was found unresponsive.
According to the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrived at the Canales’ residence on July 11, 2011, shortly after 4:00 p.m., to find the baby “not breathing.” An ambulance had already been dispatched. Canales, who was looking after his daughter while his wife was away, told deputies that he had fed and swaddled the baby three hours earlier and put her in a rocker while he took a nap. When he woke up, the baby was not breathing. The deputies found the baby deceased upon their arrival.
Adam Canales is now awaiting sentencing by a jury. Sarah Canales has also been charged with manslaughter, and her trial is still pending.