NJ couple arrested for death of three-day-old newborn

A married couple were arrested and charged with child endangerment when their newborn daughter was found dead three days after her birth in their drug paraphernalia-strewn apartment. 

Joseph and Juliann Chmielewski were charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child after the infant was reported ‘in medical distress’ by someone in their apartment in Wallington, New Jersey. 

The pair, 40 and 35 respectively, were accused of failing to seek medical attention for the newborn, who was born on February 6, Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo told NJ.com  

Joseph (left) and Juliann (right) Chmielewski were charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child in the death of their three-day-old daughter

They were also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, which was littered around their apartment on Strong Street, the prosecutor said. 

Police were alerted to the situation when someone at the apartment called 911 to report ‘an unresponsive infant in medical distress.’ 

The newborn was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center in an ambulance but was pronounced dead upon arrival.  

The couple are each accused of ‘willfully [failing] to seek medical attention’ for the newborn. 

Andrew Scholes, the couple’s landlord, said the pair were problem tenants and he had tried to get them evicted in February 2017, according to NorthJersey.com. 

They were also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, which was littered around their apartment on Strong Street, the prosecutor said

He said he’d suspected them of using drugs in the apartment for at least a year. 

‘It’s kind of sad, but they didn’t seem like they made good parents, the 73-year-old said. He also said he had no idea Juliann was pregnant, and that Joseph’s mother had covered their living expenses for roughly a year. 

They also faced eviction from a different apartment in Lodi in July 2015, court records show. 

The couple appeared in a Hackensack court Monday and were released without bail pending further legal action. The prosecutors office ensured that an investigation is ongoing.