Massachusetts man arraigned in death of his 4-month-old baby

A Massachusetts man today pleaded not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to charges stemming from the 2019 death of his 4-month-old baby, who died after being administered a lethal dose of adult sleep medication with an infant syringe.

In court before Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey, former Amherst man Isaac Villalobos, also known as Angel M. Carattini-Rivera, 35, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter, assault and battery on a child causing substantial injury, reckless endangerment of a child, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a child under 14.

He was represented in court by defense attorney Alan M. Rubin of the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Northampton. Representing the Commonwealth were Assistant District Attorneys Andrew C. Covington and Thomas H. Townsend, chief of the appeals unit. Acting on the joint recommendation of the lawyers, Judge Carey set bail at $250,000 cash. Villalobos is due in court next on September 12.

Villalobos was indicted by a Grand Jury last week following a three-year investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of his infant son, who died at 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 15, 2019 as a result of receiving a fatal dose of an adult sleep medicine. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of the baby’s death to be acute doxylamine intoxication.

Following the Grand Jury indictment, Villalobos was arrested in Maryland last week and brought back to Massachusetts on July 14.

The case was investigated by Amherst Police and State Police troopers assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office. That investigation is ongoing.