BCPO: TWO PALISADES PARK, NJ WOMEN CHARGED IN DEATH OF CHILD

Press release from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office:

Maureen Parenta

2022-02-15

For Immediate Release:

February 15, 2022

Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella announced the arrest of ELIDA OFELIA MEDINA-RAMOS (DOB: 5/09/1948; single; waitress) of 1 East Harriet Avenue, Apartment 7, Palisades Park, NJ on charges of aggravated manslaughter, unauthorized practice of medicine and child endangerment, and ENMA MEDINA (DOB: 12/10/1983; married; unemployed) of 208A Commercial Avenue, Palisades Park, NJ on a child endangerment charge. The arrests are the result of an investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Jason Love and the Palisades Park Police Department under the direction of Officer in Charge Sean Lee.

On Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at approximately 8:30 a.m., the Palisades Park Police Department responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting an eleven-month- old child having a medical episode. Responding officers found the child unconscious and not breathing. The child was transported by ambulance to Hackensack University Medical Center where she was pronounced deceased.

An investigation conducted by detectives from the Palisades Park Police Department and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit revealed that ELIDA OFELIA MEDINA-RAMOS administered medical care to a child, which resulted in the child’s death. ENMA MEDINA allowed ELIDA OFELIA MEDINA-RAMOS to administer the medical care to the child.

On Monday, February 14, 2022, ELIDA OFELIA MEDINA-RAMOS was arrested and charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter, N.J.S.A. 2C:11-4a(1); third-degree unauthorized practice of medicine, N.J.S.A. 2C:21-20; and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(3). She was remanded to the Bergen County Jail pending her first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack, NJ.

On Monday, February 14, 2022, ENMA MEDINA was arrested and charged with second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a(2), and was released on her own recognizance.

Prosecutor Musella states that the charges are merely accusations and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and he would like to thank the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and the Palisades Park Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.

This press release was produced by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. The views expressed here are the author’s own.