Veronica Cirella

Case record: Veronica Cirella

Background

Veronica Cirella was 31 and lived in Plainview, New York. She was the mother of Julie Cirella, an 8-year-old girl who had cerebral palsy and was confined to a wheelchair. Julie was found dead in her home and was supposed to be a flower girl in a cousin’s wedding.

The offence

Veronica Cirella was accused of killing her daughter by feeding her peanut M&Ms despite her severe peanut allergy. The allegation stated that Cirella fed the girl peanut M&Ms as a treat because Julie agreed to participate in the wedding. Prosecutors said she knew her daughter was allergic to peanuts, and that she gave her Benadryl to counteract any allergic reactions before she went to sleep.

A suicide note written by Cirella indicated that she admitted feeding M&Ms to her daughter the night before she died as a special treat for participation in the wedding the following day. In the suicide note, she said that when she realized the child had eaten a product containing peanuts after reading the candy’s label, she administered liquid Benadryl to counter the effects. The note said that after the two eventually went to sleep, she found the child dead early the following morning.

The suicide note also alluded to disputes with her estranged husband, Joseph, who had been arrested earlier the same week of the wedding on charges of violating an order of protection. In the note, Cirella wrote: “Trust me things only would have gotten worse,” and also wrote: “I could not risk loosing [sic] my daughter. I could not risk her being mistreated if he killed me. No one could take care of her the way I could.”

In the suicide note, Cirella wrote: “I had to give her a better life, which was to give her back to heaven. She does not deserve to be in pain whatsoever. I don't mind going to hell because I took my life to give her a better life which is in heaven where she can be free.”

Attorney William Keahon argued that Cirella’s statements were those of a distraught woman who believed she had accidentally killed her daughter by feeding the M&Ms. Keahon also contended there was no evidence of peanuts found in the child’s body after the autopsy. He further argued that the suicide note made no mention of whether Cirella knowingly fed the child something she knew would be harmful.

Investigation

Cops found Cirella lying on the floor near her daughter’s body. After discovering Julie had died, Cirella told police that she attempted suicide by taking both injections of insulin and drinking the medication, as well as taking an unknown quantity of painkillers. She also told police she attempted to strangle herself with an electrical cord.

A prosecutor said that Julie had suffered an allergic reaction to something she was fed. Assistant District Attorney Zeena Abdi said: “There was a certain protocol that should have been followed as far as giving care for the allergy that she did not take.”

Statements from law enforcement included that autopsy results were inconclusive and further tests were pending. Investigators described the situation as an undetermined homicide at the time because there were no outward signs of violence or any trauma to Julie.

A prosecutor said the grand jury heard from Cirella and several witnesses before returning the indictment on the second-degree murder charge. District Attorney Kathleen Rice said: “Every child's death arouses strong emotions, but prosecutors must evaluate the evidence objectively, and regardless of how difficult the defendant perceived her circumstances to be, taking her daughter's life was unjustified,' Rice said.”

Arrest and detention

Cirella was charged with manslaughter at her arraignment on July 24, 2011. A judge ordered her jailed without bail on that date.

Later, she was ordered held without bail on April 4, 2012 pending trial.

Trial

On April 4, 2012, Veronica Cirella pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. She had previously been charged with manslaughter.

Attorney William Keahon asked for release on bail, arguing that an autopsy had failed to determine a cause of death. The judge cited Cirella’s suicide attempt the day her daughter died and the fact that Cirella faced a potential life sentence as reasons to keep her in custody until trial. Keahon said: “I've never seen an indictment for murder, intentional murder, where the medical examiner cannot even give a causation of death, nor can he even say it's a homicide. It's bizarre,' Keahon told reporters outside the Long Island courthouse.”

Sentencing

No sentencing was recorded because the case was pending trial.

Appeals

No appeal was recorded.

Outcome

The legal matter proceeded with Cirella ordered held without bail pending trial. She pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.

Other details

Julie Cirella was discovered on the floor of their home unconscious by Julie’s grandmother. The report said Julie had a cord around her neck.

Cirella’s mother-in-law, Dolores Cirella, discovered Cirella and Julie when she checked on their preparations for the wedding later that afternoon. Dolores Cirella said: “She would never hurt her, never, never,” and she added: “She baby-sits for my grandson,” added sister-in-law Joanne Cirella. Joanne Cirella said: “If I ever thought she ever harmed her daughter, I would never even let her near him. He's 2-years-old. She loves that boy to death.”

A Newsday report said Cirella was released from jail without bail on September 7, 2011 because prosecutors did not indict her within the legal time limit. It reported a legal demand for a felony exam, and that prosecutors were awaiting the medical examiner’s ongoing investigation. It said the felony count at that time was second-degree manslaughter, alleging that she failed to take the medical steps necessary to save her daughter.

Another report described a prosecutor’s view that Cirella fed her disabled 8-year-old girl food she was allergic to and then tried to kill herself, leaving a note that said “her daughter should die.” It said Julie could not be revived and that Cirella was alive and conscious. It also reported that Judge Anna Anzalone ordered Cirella jailed without bail.