Late ABC News Producer Dax Tejera And Wife Accused Of Leaving Their Children Alone While They Went Out On Date Where He Died
Jan. 3 2023, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
The late ABC News executive producer Dax Tejera and his widow are accused of leaving their young children unattended inside a hotel room while they went out for dinner — where he ended up dead.
Veronica Tejera, a senior producer at the Washington Post, told officials she and her husband left their two toddlers at a hotel room, while they went out for an evening in Manhattan when her husband collapsed from a fatal heart attack, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Dax died on December 23 at age 37. Hours later, Veronica, 33, was arrested and charged with two counts of child endangerment after NYPD received a call from the exclusive members-only Yale Club for "unattended children" on the premise.
Following NYPD's response to 50 Vanderbilt Avenue, which is home to the members-only Yale Club, the widow was charged with two counts of "acting in a manner injurious to a child."
According to police, upon their arrival, officers discovered "a two-year-old female and a five-month-old female," believed to be the Tejera children. Sources claim the children had been "left alone inside of a hotel room for an extended period of time."
Police did not confirm the identity of the minors, however, the children's ages and descriptions match those of Tejera's children.
A source told the New York Post that the couple was out at dinner at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse when the producer suffered a heart attack.
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The 33-year-old mother said she traveled with her husband via ambulance before she was arrested just hours later for child endangerment.
Veronica claimed that the couple had "had two cameras trained" on their children when they left them unattended in the hotel room as they went out in Manhattan.
"We had two cameras trained on my children as they slept, and I monitored them closely in the time I was away from them," Veronica said in a statement. "While the girls were unharmed, I realize that it was a poor decision."
The couple was believed to be about a block away from the Yale Club when the ABC News producer collapsed and was rushed to a nearby hospital but it is still unclear how long the five-month-old and two-year-old were left alone.
Veronica said, "My family and I are devastated by Dax’s sudden passing. He has left behind a heartbroken family, and two daughters he loved with all his heart," Veronica stated. "When Dax collapsed on December 23rd, I accompanied him in an ambulance to the hospital."
"I asked both a close friend and my parents to rush to my children’s hotel room to attend to them as I monitored them by the camera," The widow continued. "The hotel would not allow my friend in and instead called the NYPD."
"Our family has suffered a terrible tragedy. I respectfully ask for privacy while my children and I mourn Dax’s death."