Infant Boy Is Found Dead at Care Center

A 4-month-old boy died mysteriously at a home day care center Monday, but police said they have no evidence of any wrongdoing and were looking into the possibility that sudden infant death syndrome is to blame.

The baby, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead shortly after noon at the Elvira Street residence after baby-sitters called 911 when they could not rouse him from a nap, police said.

“At this point nothing looks suspicious. There’s nothing unusual here,” Westminster Police Officer J.R. Goodman said at the scene. Other children at the home were sent home with their parents, Goodman said.

The home, situated in a tidy middle-class neighborhood, is owned by Fred and Susan Paulino and is licensed as a family day care center, police said. State day-care licensing officials said they will look into the death as a matter of routine.

“The baby was put down for a scheduled nap,” Westminster Police Officer Robin Kapp said. “The baby-sitter checked the baby two hours later for its normal feeding and found that the baby was not breathing and called the paramedics. The paramedics attempted to revive the baby, but they were unsuccessful.”

There were no signs of trauma, Kapp said, but there will be an autopsy and an investigation will continue.

Police and coroner’s officials said sudden infant death syndrome could be responsible but that a number of lab tests will be performed to rule out other causes.

“It’s a good possibility that’s what it is, but until such time as that can be determined, we can’t say with any certainty,” said Barbara Mitchell, manager of forensics investigations for the county. “SIDS is a diagnosis of exclusion.”

Sudden infant death syndrome, in which seemingly healthy babies are found dead in their cribs, is the major cause of death for infants between 2 weeks and 1 year old. Between 30 and 50 children in Orange County die annually of the malady, officials said. Scientists know relatively little about what causes the mysterious syndrome.

The operators of the Westminster center refused to comment on the case.

Gunther Leuthold, whose 4-year-old daughter has been going to the center for several years, said he arrived to pick up his daughter as the tragedy was unfolding.

“When I walked in the action was taking place. . . . There was no one there except the baby-sitter and a helper,” Leuthold said, referring to Susan Paulino and an assistant. “One was on the phone talking to the paramedics, and (Susan Paulino) tried to revive the baby. Soon the firemen came, and they pronounced the baby dead. . . . I don’t know what happened. It’s just one of those things.

“But it would not be any wrongdoing, that I can assure you,” Leuthold said. “It’s a peaceful operation. I’m one who would be suspicious about anything, and I am not.”

Leuthold said he would take his daughter to the center today if it is open.

“I have no second thoughts, no worries whatsoever,” he said. “Susie was there to save a baby. I couldn’t say anything bad about them.”

Leuthold said the center has had as many as 12 children at one time but that there only appeared to be about four or five on Monday.

Diane Hawthorne, supervisor with the state Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing division, said she could not immediately release any information on the center’s performance.

“It is a questionable death because we don’t really know what caused it,” Hawthorne said. “And we will be investigating, according to our normal operating procedures. But until then, there’s really nothing to report.”