3-day-old girl died after parents didn’t get her care, cops say

WALLINGTON — Parents of a 3-day-old girl died after being born outside of the hospital did not seek medical attention for the girl in time to save her, police say.

Joseph Chmielewski, 40, and Juliann Garner-Chmielewski, 35, are charged with endangering the welfare of a child. The girl's mother is also facing drug charges.

On the afternoon of Feb. 9, police were called about an unresponsive infant in medical distress at the Chmielewskis home, acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo said.  The baby was rushed to Hackensack University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, according to Calo.

Calo said the parents "willfully failed to seek medical attention for her."

It wasn't clear from an announcement by Calo's office what specifically caused the infant's distress.

According to the Jersey Journal, a Wallington man named Joseph Chmielewski pleaded guilty in 2010 to being part of a black market network of drug dealers for narcotics including OxyContin and Percocet. The Journal said a total of 32 people, including doctors and pharmacists, had been arrested as part of the network at the time.

The Chmielewskis had an initial court appearance for the current charges on Monday and were released. New Jersey 101.5 did not know Monday whether they had attorneys who could speak on their behalf.

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