Natural Causes Suspected in Infant Boy's Death

A four-month-old infant boy who had been napping died Tuesday afternoon when he couldn't be awakened by the owner of a private day care in Clark.

The boy, whose name has not been released, was being cared for at A Mother's Touch. Teresa Caporaso, owner of the licensed in-home day care at 110 Hall Drive, went to wake the boy when she found that he had stopped breathing and was unresponsive. 

According to a close family friend, Caporaso called 9-1-1 while her husband, Michael, performed CPR. Her husband couldn't revive the child and emergency personnel who responded to the scene were also unsuccessful in their attempts to revive the baby. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

A source confirmed that the child’s mother lives on Russell Avenue in Rahway. Authorities would not identify the mother by name. It is unclear whether funeral arrangements have been made.

Responders were quick to suggest Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) as the probable cause of death. Clark Police Chief Denis Connell said that there appeared to be no evidence of foul play. Clark PD handled the preliminary investigation before turning the case over to the Union County Prosecutor’s office. John Holl, spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, also indicated that there was nothing suspicious about the tragic incident at this time. Holl stated that an autopsy took place on Wednesday and the results will not be immediately available.

For more than 20 years, Teresa Caporaso has been first and foremost a mother. She and Michael have raised four grown children of their own. Friends describe her as a proud soccer mom and meticulous housekeeper who makes homemade soup every Monday, adores her new grandson, and religiously freezes a portion of each meal she cooks for her oldest son who lives out of state.

She has provided family-style day care in her home for a generation of kids who often came to her as infants and continued with after-school. A steady stream of Caporaso's clients have been coming to the home to offer condolences. After a lifetime of caring for countless children as if they were her own, life will never be the same for this mom – or the mother of the infant in her care.

According to the American SIDS Institute, SIDS is often suspected when a previously healthy infant, usually younger than six months of age, is found dead in a crib. Usually, no sign of distress is found. CPR may be administered at the scene, but evidence has shown it to be ineffective. SIDS risk peaks in infants two to four months; about 90 percent of SIDS deaths occur in infants younger than 6 months of age. Although the specific cause remains unknown, the following is now known about SIDS: Apnea monitors will not prevent SIDS; SIDS is not predictable or preventable and is not caused by immunizations or bad parenting. SIDS is not contagious or hereditary. SIDS is no one's fault.