What Happened
A Lindenhurst couple was indicted on multiple felony charges after two of their four children were discovered in medically critical condition, allegedly as the result of years of deliberate neglect, according to News 12 Long Island. The case came to light on October 2, 2024, when the youngest of the four children — a 4-year-old — was brought to a doctor for what was reported as a constipation issue.
What examining physicians found was far more alarming. The 4-year-old had not received any medical care since the age of 2 months and was found to be in a critical state, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. The child was sent to Good Samaritan University Medical Center, where the condition was determined to be heart failure caused by a chronic iron deficiency. Prosecutors allege that deficiency was caused by a diet consisting primarily of cow milk mixed with strawberry syrup. Because of the severity of the condition, the child was subsequently transferred to Cohen Children’s Medical Center and then to NYU Langone Health in Manhattan, where a heart transplant was performed.
Following the hospitalization of the younger child, investigators visited the family’s home and discovered a second victim: a 9-year-old boy found malnourished, with pale skin, and wearing a diaper, per News 12 Long Island. That child was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was determined to be in a medically critical state and severely anemic. Like his younger sibling, the 9-year-old had not received any medical care since the age of 2. He had also never been enrolled in school. Physicians determined that the boy had suffered damage to his heart also as a result of iron deficiency anemia, which prosecutors again attribute to a diet of strawberry milk consumed through a baby bottle.
The couple’s two older sons, ages 11 and 12 at the time, were enrolled in school and had received medical care, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. However, both were found to require medical or dental treatment for conditions allegedly stemming from inadequate care by the parents.
District Attorney Ray Tierney issued a statement in connection with the indictment: “These defendants allegedly neglected two of their children for a prolonged period of time resulting in devastating and entirely preventable medical consequences. When parents abandon their duty to care for a child, and the child then suffers serious physical harm as a result, our office will aggressively pursue justice on their behalf.”
Location & Road Context
The family resided in Lindenhurst, a hamlet in the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County on Long Island’s South Shore. The children received emergency care at facilities across the region — Good Samaritan University Medical Center in West Islip, Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, Stony Brook University Hospital, and NYU Langone Health in Manhattan. Lindenhurst has been the site of several notable public safety incidents in recent months, including a DWI arrest following a three-vehicle crash in July 2026 and the death of a Lindenhurst man in a car accident that same month.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
On July 30, 2026, the defendants were each arraigned and charged with assault, reckless endangerment, and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office as reported by News 12 Long Island. Each defendant was held on $500,000 cash bail, a $1,000,000 bond, or a $5,000,000 partially secured bond pending the outcome of the case. The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office indicated it will aggressively pursue the case on behalf of the children.
Broader Impact
Child neglect resulting in serious physical injury carries severe criminal exposure under New York law. In this case, the assault charges — typically elevated when a child victim suffers significant injury — can carry substantial prison sentences, and the prosecution’s use of all three charge categories signals an intent to pursue the maximum available accountability. The case also highlights the role of mandatory medical screening: the younger child’s heart failure went entirely undetected for nearly four years because neither child had been seen by a physician since infancy, underscoring how gaps in routine pediatric care can mask life-threatening neglect until a crisis forces disclosure.