Local News in Brief : Burbank Mother Held in Drugging of Baby
A 25-year-old Burbank woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after she allegedly fed her 9-month-old daughter a prescription drug that can be lethal if ingested in large doses, police said Tuesday.
Relatives told police that Maria Esparza had become distraught over her husband’s threats to leave her and her two daughters. She allegedly put several pills from a prescription bottle of isoniazid, a drug used to treat tuberculosis, into a blender and gave her youngest child a sip of the mixture Monday night, according to Sgt. Harry Griffin.
A relative of the woman knocked the glass out of her hand and summoned police. Esparza was being held Tuesday at Sybil Brand Institute for Women in lieu of $12,000 bail.
The baby was taken to the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Hollywood for observation, where she was reported in stable condition Tuesday, a hospital spokeswoman said. The other daughter, a 2-year-old, was placed into custody at MacLaren Hall.
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