A Florida woman has been charged with second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse after a lengthy investigation into the death of her 9-month-old son, who died from lethal amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine.
According to the Miami-Dade Police Department, 26-year-old Natalia Munoz-Paulino was arrested on November 10, 2025, more than a year after the child’s death on July 2, 2024.
Investigators said the infant was pronounced dead at 10:39 p.m. at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital after being transported by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. Homicide detectives were notified shortly after.
Disturbing Scene and Cause of Death
When officers entered Munoz-Paulino’s apartment on SW 147th Avenue, they described the home as “disheveled, unkempt, and dirty,” with old food, trash, and soiled items scattered across the floor. Officers also reported stopping the victim’s older sibling from eating out of a baby-oil bottle.
A report from the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office determined the baby’s cause of death to be lethal ingestion of cocaine and methamphetamine, ruling the manner of death as homicide by child neglect.
The autopsy also revealed the infant had consumed foreign objects, including eggshells and feathers.
Conflicting Accounts and Drug Use
Detectives said Munoz-Paulino gave several conflicting accounts of what happened that night—claiming at different times that her son had fallen, choked, or drowned. She also stated she awoke to find him “purple and unresponsive.”
During questioning, Munoz-Paulino admitted to using narcotics during a party at her apartment the weekend before her son’s death. The child’s father told investigators he had previously witnessed her using methamphetamine at the residence.
Munoz-Paulino is currently being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
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