After 10-Year-Old IE Boy Dies From Fentanyl Poisoning, Woman At Center Of Case Gets Bad News

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA — An Inland Empire woman accused of contributing to a 10-year-old boy's death will not receive a "mental health diversion" and instead will face traditional criminal prosecution in the case, a court ruled last week.

Christina Veronica Alvarez, 33, of Rancho Cucamonga, is charged with child abuse likely to produce great bodily harm or death after Nathaniel Castro Mendoza, also of Rancho Cucamonga, died from fentanyl poisoning.

Alavrez had sought a mental health diversion, a court-authorized process that allows some eligible defendants with qualifying mental health disorders to receive treatment in lieu of traditional criminal prosecution.

On Jan. 9, however, a San Bernardino County court denied the diversion. Alvarez is next scheduled to appear on Jan. 22. She remains jailed at San Bernardino County's West Valley Jail in Rancho Cucamonga.

The case against Alvarez stems back to December 2024, when deputies responded to a 911 call in the 9000 block of Arrow Route in Rancho Cucamonga regarding an unresponsive 10-year-old child.

Despite life-saving efforts, the boy was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. He was eventually identified as Nathaniel.

The San Bernardino County Coroner Division later determined the child died from fentanyl and xylazine toxicity.

Investigators said that Alvarez possessed and stored the fentanyl "in a manner" that led to Nathaniel's death after he inadvertently accessed the illicit drug. Alvarez was arrested on March 14, 2025.

During court proceedings, Alvarez's legal defense team requested that their client be considered for a mental health diversion under California law, and that effort was unsuccessful.

Alvarez's relationship with the child is not immediately known.