Texas father convicted of manslaughter for overdosing infant daughter with Benadryl for "quality time"

A 33-year-old Texas father has been convicted of manslaughter after administering excessive doses of Benadryl to his two-month-old daughter to induce sleep so he could spend "quality time" with his wife. Adam Canales Jr. wore a white cowboy hat pulled low during Thursday's verdict hearing in Lubbock's 137th District Court, potentially obscuring his facial expressions.

District Attorney Sunshine Stanek revealed both parents regularly sedated their infant with multiple medications including Benadryl, ZzzQuil, and dextromethorphan. The fatal incident occurred in July 2021 when emergency responders found the baby unresponsive at the family's Idalou home. An autopsy confirmed "mixed drug toxicity" as the cause of death.

Canales, described by prosecutors as "selfish, self-centered and extremely reckless," faces up to 20 years imprisonment. His defense attorney cited poor parental communication about medication administration and claimed Canales unknowingly repeated his own childhood exposure to similar sedatives. The baby's mother Sarah Canales awaits separate trial on identical manslaughter charges.