Carol Stream woman tried to poison stepdaughter, dad testifies

A DuPage County bench trial began Wednesday in the case of a Carol Stream woman accused of spiking her 17-month-old stepdaughter's milk with nail polish remover.

Andrea Vazquez-Hernandez, 37, is charged with aggravated battery. Prosecutors say she tried to poison the girl after a dispute with her husband and the girl's mother. She is accused of putting about an inch of nail polish remover in the girl's cup and mixing it with milk while her husband and the girl were out of the house.

Robert Clark said he took his 6-year-old son and the girl to get ice cream May 29 after a particularly ugly dispute in which Vazquez-Hernandez threw her shoes at him and threatened to kill him.

After returning home from getting ice cream, Clark testified, he retrieved the sippy cup his daughter had used throughout the day and gave it to her.

"She took a sip, spit it out and threw it on the floor," he said. "About 20 minutes later she pointed to the kitchen and I went and got her the bottle again and she did the exact same thing."

Clark said he checked the expiration date on the milk and then inspected the cup.

"As soon as I took the lid off, I smelled nail polish remover clear as day," he said. "It was pungent. It was really strong."

He testified he then took the girl to the hospital, where the drink was inspected and the girl was examined and released, uninjured.

Vazquez-Hernandez has been held on $250,000 bail since her arrest and faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

The bench trial resumes May 31 before Judge Brian Telander.