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Inset: Natalia Munoz-Paulino (Miami-Dade Corrections). Background: Apartment in the 8000 block of SW 147th Avenue in Miami where a 9-month-old died after ingesting drugs (Google Maps).
Authorities have charged 26-year-old Natalia Munoz-Paulino with second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. In accordance with a probable cause arrest affidavit examined by Law&Crime, Miami-Dade Police detectives were called to a hospital on July 2, 2024, where the 9-month-old boy had been pronounced dead.
Upon visiting Munoz-Paulino’s apartment on SW 147th Avenue, investigators found the premises in disarray—cluttered with clothing, leftover food, garbage, and used hygiene products scattered across the floor. Officers on the scene intervened to stop the boy’s older sibling from eating out of a bottle meant for baby oil, according to the affidavit.
Munoz-Paulino initially told authorities she had fallen asleep while holding her son and awoke to find him “purple, unresponsive, and stiff.” However, her account changed when speaking to investigators and family members, where she alternately claimed he had fallen and struck his head, drowned, or choked.
Munoz-Paulino explained she fell asleep while cradling the victim and woke up to find him “purple, unresponsive and stiff.” But she later told investigators and other family members different stories about what happened. She said he had fallen and hit his head, that he had drowned and that he choked.
The suspect also told detectives that her son was prone to placing foreign objects in his mouth. An autopsy discovered he had eggshells and feathers in his stomach. The cause of death was lethal amounts of cocaine and meth while the manner of death was homicide by child neglect.
Cops arrested Munoz-Paulino on Monday. Post-Miranda, she admitted to using drugs on the weekend of her son’s death while hosting a party at her apartment. The boy’s father said he lives out of state and had previously seen the suspect use meth at the apartment.
Munoz-Paulino remains at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without bond. She pleaded not guilty.