Mom of 2-Year-Old Who Died With Toxic Levels of Benadryl Found Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity By Madison E. Goldberg

The mother of a 2-year-old daughter who died with “toxic” levels of Benadryl in her system was found not guilty by reason of insanity on Wednesday, Jan. 14.

Leandra Andrade, who was 38 at the time of her daughter’s death, was found unconscious at the Cutty Shark hotel in Virginia Beach, Va., in August 2022, detectives said. Her daughter Lanoix was found foaming at the mouth, with a fatal dose of Benadryl in her system, according to WTKR.

Andrade fled the Washington D.C., area with Lanoix after Lanoix’s father, Fabio Andrade Jr., was awarded full legal custody, although both parents were granted joint physical custody, according to the stipulation of trial evidence obtained by WAVY.

The mother had been charged with aggravated murder and child neglect, and her case was set to go to trial before the judge accepted her plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, 13 News Now reports. The judge also dropped a second-degree murder charge, per the outlet.

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“It is a failure of accountability; it strips transparency from the process and denies my daughter the most basic protection the justice system promises that the truth will be tested in open court,” Fabio Andrade, the victim’s father, told 13News Now.

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In text messages allegedly sent from Andrade to her husband on the night of Lanoix’s death, prosecutors allege that Andrade wrote, “Neither one of us want the future you are manifesting; It will make you cry yourself to sleep at night,” according to court documents.

Court records allege that Andrade resent the text on the night of the murder with the words “you don’t win,” “It will make you cry yourself to sleep at night” and “Please believe me” circled.

A court-ordered forensic evaluation of Andrade’s mental state in 2024 led to her being diagnosed with PTSD, Major Depressive Disorder-recurrent, severe with psychotic symptoms, and “an unspecified eating disorder,” according to the stipulation of trial evidence. The doctor also found that Andrade met the criteria for “Persistent Depressive Disorder, early onset, moderate-severe and (2) PTSD with dissociative symptoms in the time leading up to her arrest.”

The records also allege that Andrade had previously attempted to die by suicide years before the murder.

Andrade faces a conditional release hearing in March, which will determine whether she will be committed to a behavioral health facility, WTKR reports.

“I think I can honestly say in over four decades of practicing law, this is probably the saddest case that I’ve ever had,” Andrade’s attorney, James Broccoletti, told WTKR. “There are no winners on either side of this case. We use the word tragedy often, but it doesn’t come close to defining this case.”