A Long Island father pleaded guilty Monday in connection with his toddler son’s overdose death last year.
Wilkens Adonis, 39, accepted a 5-to-15-year prison sentence as part of a plea deal, Newsday reported. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, drug possession and child endangerment.
“I take full responsibility for everything that happened,” Adonis said in court, according to Newsday. “Losing a son is more than anything.”
Joseph Adonis was one day short of being 14 months old when he was found unresponsive in a Holbrook residence on Jan. 3, 2024, according to investigators. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but pronounced dead.
Police found fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and Xanax in the home, along with a shotgun, a stun gun, drug packaging and scales. An autopsy determined Joseph died from drug poisoning, and Adonis confirmed he stored drugs in the room where his son slept.
Adonis and the boy’s mother, Darylee Leibrock, were arrested three weeks later and charged in Joseph’s death. Prior to Monday’s plea agreement, Adonis faced up to 25 years in prison on a top charge of second-degree drug possession.
Leibrock has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on Tuesday, according to Newsday. Her attorney told the outlet plea negotiations are ongoing in her case.
“He had a drug problem, there was obviously a substance addiction problem among other things,” Adonis’ lawyer, Matthew Tuohy, told Newsday. “He lost his son, and it really tore him up.”
