Jealous step-mom poisons tot, laces tot’s milk with poisonous polish remover

An Illinois woman is behind bars and headed to trial after she allegedly tried to poison her 17-month-old stepdaughter with nail polish. New details emerged about the incident on Thursday, during a hearing at the DuPage County courthouse.

Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Carol Stream Police Department was called to a home off of Hearth Lane on Sunday evening in May 2016. Andrea Vazquez-Hernandez, 36, called 911 and said her stepdaughter may have accidentally consumed nail polish. Police spoke to the child’s father, who said he tried to give the toddler a bottle but as soon as she took one drink, she spit the liquid out.

Authorities took the little girl to the hospital, but results indicated that the toddler didn’t ingest any nail polish remover. She was subsequently released and sent home. Detectives started an investigation shortly after the incident and determined that Vazquez-Hernandez had purposely spiked the toddler’s bottle with nail polish remover.

Initially, police didn’t give a motive for the crime, but during court on Thursday, new details were revealed. According to court documents, Vazquez-Hernandez and her husband had a child in 2010 but separated shortly after. During their separation, the husband had a baby with another woman. The baby, a little girl, was born in December 2014. Vazquez-Hernandez and her husband later got back together, but she was reportedly jealous of the little girl’s mother, who her husband still kept in contact with.

On May 19, 2016, just days before the toddler’s bottle incident, Vazquez-Hernandez allegedly sent threatening text messages to the little girl’s mother, insulting her and demanding that she stay away unless there was an emergency with the child. Prosecutors contend that her behavior showed that Vazquez-Hernandez was likely jealous and that the toddler reminded her of the relationship her husband had with another woman.

According to detectives, Andrea Vazquez-Hernandez admitted that she wanted to punish her husband and the toddler’s mother.

Vazquez-Hernandez was jailed with bail set at $250,000. She’s remained in jail for a little over a year, charged with aggravated battery and domestic battery. Her trial starts on May 17.

[Feature Photo: DuPage County Sheriff’s Office]