Judge accepts father’s guilty plea in connection with infant death

A former Amherst man today pleaded guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to a single criminal charge stemming from the 2019 death of his 4-month-old baby who died after being administered adult sleep medication w5-7 ith an infant syringe.

In court before Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey, Isaac Villalobos, also known as Angel M. Carattini-Rivera, 35, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assault and battery on a child causing substantial injury.

In today’s change of plea hearing, acting on the joint recommendation from Assistant District Attorney Andrew C. Covington and defense attorney Alan M. Rubin of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, Carey sentenced Villalobos to serve 5 to 7 years in state prison. As part of that agreement, the Commonwealth dropped charges of manslaughter; reckless endangerment of a child; and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a child under 14.

Villalobos was arraigned on the charges in July, 2022, after being indicted by the Hampshire Grand Jury following a three-year investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of his infant son, who died Sept. 15, 2019 as a result of receiving adult sleep medicine. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of the baby’s death to be acute doxylamine intoxication.

“This was a horrific tragedy. In this case, the Commonwealth wanted to provide a measure of closure for the victim’s family while also holding the defendant accountable for his actions. We feel the best interests of justice were served with this plea and sentencing today,” said ADA Covington.