Denise Gonzalez & Rafael Colon, Arrested in Death of 11-Mo. Old Baby, Major Gonzalez, 8-Year Old Left to Watch Four Younger Siblings

Denise Gonzalez, 29, and Rafael Colon, 43, of Brooklyn, New York, have been arrested for leaving their eight-year old son in charge of four younger siblings, including an 11 month old baby that died. According to the NY Daily News, the couple admitted to police that they went to a Target in College Point, Queens, Monday night and left the grade-schooler to supervise infant Major Gonzalez and three other kids ages six, three, and two. They returned home three hours later and found the baby with a bruise on his head and he was struggling to breathe. He later died at Brookdale University Hospital.

The couple was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, which is a misdemeanor. I am sure the charges will be upgraded once an autopsy has determined the exact cause of the infant's death. Here's the tragedy of the whole situation, besides the loss of an innocent life, Denise Gonzalez has 10 children and has been investigated by child welfare agencies in New York and New Jersey. As a result of these investigations, several kids were removed from the homes and placed in foster care.

Here's the lame excuse as to why they drove 11 miles from their home to go shopping. The defense lawyer, Arleen Ralph said Gonzalez had "a lapse of judgment." She said Gonzalez, who doesn't drive, didn't think Colon could buy diapers and toys on his own. But the couple seems to be turning on each other because his lawyer, Bob Orlando, according to the NY Daily News, claimed that Colon left before his wife and did not know that she had failed to get someone more responsible to watch the kids.

While New York State does not have a law on its books that requires a minimum age at which children can be left alone or care for another child, it's just plain common sense that you don't leave an eight year old child to care for an 11 month old baby, plus three other children. The reality is that you need someone to take care of the eight year old child. The other children have been removed from the home by ACS, in light of the baby's death.