Parents in Arizona will not face charges after their toddler was found alive in a morgue just hours after he was believed to be dead after drowning in a backyard pool.
The boy, 18 months, was brought to Dignity Health Mercy Gilbert Medical Center in Gilbert, Arizona, after his family found him seemingly dead in their pool on February 8.
First responders reported to the home and performed life-saving measures before the boy was transported to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. Upon his arrival, hospital staff continued resuscitation efforts until he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
However, the boy was later found alive in the morgue and is still alive today.
Five months after the incident, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced in a statement on Wednesday, July 29, that police recommended that both of the boy’s parents be charged. However, prosecutors “determined that this case did not meet our charging standard of ‘reasonable likelihood of conviction.’”
“To file charges, the state would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury that the parents failed to recognize a substantial and unjustifiable risk, and that this failure was such a serious lapse in judgment that it was a gross deviation from what a reasonable person would have done under the same circumstances,” the statement read.
Officials wrote that “multiple childproof locks and safety measures” were in place at the family’s home, and “multiple adults were present in the home, all of whom believed someone was watching the child.”
Authorities also said that their investigation found “no evidence that the parents exhibited any obvious signs of impairment.”
Police records from earlier in July detailed how the child’s parents, a nurse and police officers all raised concerns that the boy was still alive before personnel from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office discovered that he was breathing when they arrived at the morgue to retrieve his body, according to the Associated Press.
The police report stated that a doctor was preparing to tell the parents that the boy died when a nurse told him, “I have a pulse.” A police officer relayed the concern to the doctor, the doctor allegedly responded, “Please do your thing and let me do my thing.”
After the boy was found to be alive, he was immediately airlifted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital for emergency treatment.
Following the incident, Mercy Gilbert Medical Center said that it was “a heartbreaking situation.”
“We immediately conducted a thorough review of all aspects of the care that was provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care,” the hospital said in a statement to People. “Out of respect for the patient’s privacy, we cannot discuss details. We continue to work with the family and their representative. Patient safety and exceptional care is our highest priority.”
While the boy survived the incident, doctors said he still “faces a long and challenging recovery” and will “need extensive therapy, ongoing medical monitoring, and support.” A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family with medical bills.
