Woman’s Attempt to Poison Infant Stepdaughter Fueled by Jealousy: Prosecutors

CAROL STREAM, IL — Prosecutors allege that jealousy of the child’s mother motivated a woman's alleged to attempt to poison a toddler last May. A DuPage County judge ruled Thursday to allow evidence of “bad blood” in the aggravated battery trial of Andrea Vasquez-Hernandez, 37, of Carol Stream, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

Vasquez-Hernandez is accused of mixing nail polish remover with milk and putting it into her 17-month-old stepdaughter’s bottle on May 29, 2016.

Her husband, the infant’s father, alerted authorities that he suspected his child had ingested nail polish remover. The child reportedly took a sip from its bottle and then spat the mix out. A further investigation led police to discover that Vasquez-Hernandez allegedly put one inch of nail polish remover into the infant’s bottle.

Prosecutors said that the infant was born to another woman during a short period in which the father and Vasquez-Hernandez were separated. Prosecutors will submit alleged evidence of a physical altercation between Vasquez-Hernandez and her husband about the child. They also plan to submit text messages exchanged between the accused and the toddler’s mother, along with alleged statements made to police by Vasquez-Hernandez that indicate she wanted to “punish” her husband and the infant’s mother.

Andrea Vasquez-Hernandez will appear before Judge Brian Telander in a bench trial that is set to begin May 17.

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