Mother Charged In Death Of 6-Year-Old Daughter In Croton-On-Hudson

CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A former nurse from Croton-on-Hudson was charged Wednesday with criminally negligent homicide after an investigation determined her 6-year-old daughter died on Easter from a drug mixture that included antidepressants and pain medication.

Kathleen Dymes, 51, pleaded not guilty to a three-count indictment, which included child endangerment and drug possession charges, in the death of Lacey Carr, 6. A Westchester County Court judge set her bail at $25,000.

Police said the child's father, David Carr, who doesn't live at the home where the two were found, walked in on Sunday, April 5 and found Lacey unresponsive in a bed next to her mother, 52-year-old Kathleen Dymes. He immediately called 911, police said.

Lacey, a first-grader at Carrie Tompkins Elementary School, was pronounced dead. Dymes was found unconscious on the floor next to her daughter's bed and was hospitalized afterward, according to authorities.

Prosecutors allege Lacey died after ingesting a fatal combination of Benadryl, morphine and diazepam, an antidepressant. When police searched Dymes' home, they found an open bottle of alcohol and ``various and numerous over-the-counter, prescription and illegal drugs strewn about the room,'' the district attorney's office said.

``This defendant failed in her most basic role as a mother and caregiver: to ensure the safety and well-being of her child,'' Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said. ``As a former nurse, she could know only too well the dosage and interactions of the drugs her daughter had ingested that led to her death.''

If convicted, Dymes faces up to four years in prison. Her attorney, Peter Tilem, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

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