CONCORD — The babysitter charged with killing 16-month-old Anthony Delgado is suspected of torturing the toddler for 48 hours and shooting heroin while watching him, prosecutors said.
Gloria Fields, 31, was charged with aggravated murder, murder, manslaughter, aggravated sexual abuse, reckless assault to a child, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child during her arraignment Wednesday for Anthony's death.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held without bail on Rikers Island, Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon said.
"For 48 hours, this depraved woman systematically tortured a 16-month-old baby," McMahon said in a statement.
"No creature on this earth, let alone an innocent child, deserves to undergo such horrific torment. I want to thank the NYPD for their efforts in investigating this case and I want to ensure the public that my office intends to aggressively prosecute this atrocious crime."
Anthony and his mother, Marta Delgado, lived in the same Steuben Street building as Fields. The toddler had been staying on and off with his grandmother while his mother moved apartments and she dropped him off with Fields on Friday, officials said.
Fields, who had watched Anthony six times before, began to abuse the tot almost immediately, officials said.
During that time, Fields slammed Anthony face-first into a floor while he was strapped into a stroller, hit him in the head numerous times and sexually abused him, prosecutors said.
The torture caused Anthony to have multiple skull fractures, a fractured clavicle, intestinal perforations, hemorrhaging, internal bleeding and more, according to court papers.
Prosecutors said Fields shot heroin several times and smoked pot during the torture.
At one point, Fields took Anthony to her boyfriend's apartment in Manhattan and texted his mom that he fell during the visit, according to New York Daily News.
The two later returned to Fields' Steuben Street apartment. On Sunday, she found him unconscious at about 10 p.m., police said.
When police responded to the scene, FDNY members were already there and tried to perform CPR to save the boy's life.
He was taken to Staten Island University Hospital North, where he was pronounced dead.
Anthony's death was ruled a homicide from "blunt force injuries" to the head and torso, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson said.
Fields had been arrested nine times before on charges including prostitution and grand larceny, police said. Her most recent arrest was in August when she was charged with petit larceny, police said.
She's due back in court on March 21. Her lawyer could not be reached for comment.
