5/05/2026

HAYWARD — A Hayward man is headed to prison in the wake of a child’s death.  29-year-old Domenic Falkner, and the child’s mother, 30-year-old Samantha Smith, were first charged in connection with the 4-year-old’s death in 2022.  According to court documents, an autopsy of the 4-year-old determined a lethal amount of alcohol was detected in the child’s bloodstream.  Falkner pleaded no contest to the abuse and neglect charges he faced, and as part of an agreement, his murder charge had been dismissed.  Falkner will spend the next 15 years in prison and five more years of supervised release.  Smith pleaded guilty to neglect and abuse and received the same sentence back in March.