A California mom is demanding justice for her son after his unexpected death. Marcy Castro wasn’t even home when her son died, which is heartbreaking enough. But months after his death, she found out he died because he was exposed to the drug fentanyl. Castro isn’t a drug user and was shocked drugs were in her home. After a months-long investigation, another woman was arrested in connection with the boy’s death. Castro, however, doesn’t think the punishment fits the crime.
Castro, who lives in Rancho Cucamonga, spoke with ABC 7 about her son and her mission. On December 12, 2024, she explained, she got a phone call from a family member telling her that her 10-year-old son Nathaniel wasn’t breathing.
“I couldn’t even comprehend what he was saying,” she told the outlet. “I could hear 911 in the background, and he says to the paramedics what do I tell her, and they say he was pronounced dead.”
At first, the family didn’t know what caused the boy’s death, but everything came to light a few weeks later when she received a call from the coroner’s office. Her son had died as a result of being exposed to fentanyl. She described this information as a “shock.”
“We’re a drug free home,” she said. Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly true, she was about to learn.
Detectives from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case and discovered that Christina Alvarez, the girlfriend of Castro’s brother, was living in the home, ABC 7 reported. She was likely the one who exposed Nathaniel to the drug when preparing his dinner the night before he died.
“Detectives came down and said they were arresting her. The district attorney wanted to press charges because of the severity of the case, and then they found more fentanyl on her,” Castro shared.
Alvarez was arrested and taken into police custody on March 14, 2025, according to a statement from the Sheriff’s Department. The 32-year-old was charged with child endangerment after investigators discovered she “possessed and stored fentanyl in a manner that led to the victim’s death.”
In February 2025, the San Bernardino County Coroner Division determined that Nathaniel died from fentanyl and xylazine toxicity, according to the statement.
Alvarez pleaded not guilty to the child endangerment charges on March 18, the Daily Press reported.
However, Castro doesn’t believe that child endangerment is a strong enough charge for Alvarez. “She should be charged with murder,” Castro told ABC 7. “My son was murdered because of her reckless actions.”
Castro has since started Nathaniel’s Light Foundation and mounted a campaign to demand action from lawmakers. “I want justice for my son, and I won’t stop until he gets it,” the mom told the outlet. As she pointed out, her son “didn’t go out looking for the drug; he didn’t go out looking for a high, he was just an innocent boy in his home.”
