Day-care owner, worker held in death of baby

A Burbank day-care owner and employee were arrested Tuesday in the death last year of an 11-month-old boy in their care, authorities said.

The boy, identified by prosecutors as Adam D., died in February 2012 after being suffocated by a car seat’s chest strap, officials said.

Milena Nikodijevic, 51, owner of Twinkle Little Stars, and her employee, Wendy Oropeza, 21, were arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and child abuse, Jane Robison, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, said in a statement.

According to authorities, Burbank police responded to the 200 block of West Santa Anita Avenue to a call of an infant not breathing.

The baby was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“All efforts to revive the infant by emergency medical staff were unsuccessful,” Burbank police Sgt. Darin Ryburn said in a statement.

Prosecutors allege that Oropeza improperly secured Adam D. in another child’s car seat; the boy fell asleep and was suffocated by the strap, Robison said.

In addition, Nikodijevic allegedly had three times the number of children under the age of 2 in her care than her license allowed.

Nikodijevic had been cited twice before for having violating capacity at the day-care center, Robison added.

Nikodijevic and Oropeza are each being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and are due in court this week. If convicted, each faces up to seven years in state prison.