BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Buffalo couple has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for recklessly causing the death of their baby in July 2023.
The Erie County District Attorney's Office announced that 26-year-old Luis Gonzalez, Jr. and 23-year-old Kitrina Udrea pleaded guilty on Monday morning before Erie County Court Judge James F. Bargnesi to one count of second-degree manslaughter
According to the DA, on July 7, 2023, police and paramedics responded to an apartment on the 2000 block of William Street in Cheektowaga after receiving a 911 call for an unresponsive child. 2 ½-month-old Londyn Gonzalez was transported by ambulance to Oishei Children’s Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The DA said Londyn was born at a healthy weight of 6 pounds, 8 ounces on April 20, 2023. During pediatric appointments in late April and early May 2023, a medical provider expressed concern about the baby’s declining weight and instructed Gonzalez and Udrea to increase the amount of formula as well as the frequency of her feeds. Investigators said they never returned for a third appointment on May 8, 2023, never contacted the pediatrician’s office and did not take Londyn to another pediatrician.
According to the DA, Londyn weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces at the time of her death and the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the manner of death as homicide by neglect caused due to malnutrition and dehydration.
Gonzalez and Udrea are scheduled to be sentenced on July 29. The charge carries a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison, but the DA said Judge Bargnesi committed to a maximum determinate sentence of 1 to 3 years as a condition of the plea. They were released under supervision while awaiting sentence.
