Latest news with #autopsy
ABC News
2 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Inquest hears father unaware of 11yo Murgon boy's fatal snakebite
A Queensland father has told a coronial inquest he was not aware his 11-year-old son had been bitten by a brown snake and did not think it was necessary to call emergency services in the hours before he died. Tristian James Frahm, 11, died on or about November 21, 2021, at a Murgon property, three hours north of Brisbane. A coronial inquest into Tristian's death began in Toowoomba on Monday. Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard will examine the events leading up to Tristian's death and the public awareness of snakebite symptoms and first aid treatments. An autopsy found the boy died from brown snake venom in his system, likely from the snakebite found on his right ankle bone. The inquest heard the boy was discovered in a paddock after falling off a ride-on mower on the afternoon of November 20, 2021. Tristian's father, Kerrod James Frahm, told the inquest on Monday he went to bring his son back from the paddock, where he had found him sitting upright and conscious. Mr Frahm said his son had complained of a sore stomach and feeling sick, but told him nothing about being bitten by a snake. He said Tristian had vomited at least twice in the hours since the mower incident. Mr Frahm said he checked his son for any injuries after he first vomited but could not see any obvious marks, including a snakebite. "I did check him over for scuff marks and stuff," he said. "We were out cutting wood throughout that day, and he had a few scratch marks on his arms as well." Detective Senior Constable Benjamin Van Der Lugt led the investigation into Tristian's death. He told the inquest there was evidence gathered during the investigation that the boy had told someone he had been bitten by a snake. However, he said police were also told that Tristian had been joking about the snakebite. Mr Frahm told the inquest he understood Tristian had earlier in the day "snuck" three cans of bourbon from an esky on the property and likely drunk them. Counsel assisting the coroner Sarah Ford asked Mr Frahm whether he had assumed Tristian's stomach complaints were due to drinking alcohol, to which he agreed. "He just kept saying he had pain in the belly and wanted to lay down," Mr Frahm said. "If I needed to [get medical attention] I would have, I wasn't aware of the snakebite at the time." The inquest heard Mr Frahm had two friends, Jacob Bryant and Rochelle Dorman, staying at the property when his son died. Mr Bryant told the inquest he recalled Mr Frahm being present when it was first suggested Tristian had been bitten by a snake. "We all started searching his legs, myself, Rochelle and Kerrod to see if we could see any signs of a snakebite but there was no evidence," Mr Bryant said. "[We were] looking over his legs and feet for anything that was there, then that's where the conclusion [came from Tristian that he was] intoxicated." Later, Magistrate Kirkegaard asked Ms Dorman whether Mr Frahm was present while she and Mr Bryant checked for any signs of a snakebite. Ms Dorman said Mr Frahm was elsewhere at the time and agreed Mr Bryant's "memory could be distorted". Mr Frahm said he discovered Tristian's body between 7am and 8am on November 21. The inquest heard phone reception was poor at the property and a person would have to travel a few minutes before being able to make a call. Police originally charged Mr Frahm with manslaughter for failing to uphold his duty of care to his son, but the Director of Public Prosecution dropped the charge in April 2024. Tristian's maternal grandmother, Samantha Skerritt, told the inquest her grandson was a "truly remarkable soul". She said he was "wise and kind beyond his years" with a "heart so big it touched everyone around him". "He was our light, our joy, our everything and the love he gave will forever be held in our hearts," Ms Skerritt said. The coronial inquest continues.
CTV News
2 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Police probe suspicious death after man's body found at north Edmonton fire scene
Edmonton police said Sunday they're investigating after a man was found dead at the scene of an early morning fire in north Edmonton. Police said in a media release they were contacted by Edmonton Fire Rescue Services at 2:47 a.m. after firefighters found the man's body at the scene near 120 Avenue and 77 Street. Police are calling the death suspicious. Edmonton police homicide detectives have taken over the case. An autopsy is slated for Tuesday. Anyone with information about the death is asked to call police at 780-423-4567.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Child death: Autopsy expected to confirm how 6-year-old boy died in St. Lucie County home
An autopsy being performed Saturday is expected to determine how a 6-year-old boy died, according to St. Lucie County sheriff's officials. His mother, 41-year-old Rhonda Paulynice, has been charged with second-degree murder, failure to report a death and willfully touching or moving the body, according to an arrest report. She remained in the St. Lucie County Jail without bail after her first appearance in court Saturday morning, said sheriff's Lt. Andrew Bolonka. The Medical Examiner's Office was performing an autopsy on the boy, Ra'Myl Pierre, on Saturday to determine his cause and manner of death, Bolonka said. Deputies went to their home in the 2500 block of Bedford Drive, near North 25th Street and Juanita Avenue in Fort Pierce, at about 10:30 a.m. May 30 to perform a welfare check, according to officials. The check was requested by a school resource officer after the boy hadn't been to school at Samuel Gaines Academy since May 14. They arrived and found a woman later confirmed to be Paulynice walking from the front of the home toward the sidewalk area near the road, according to the report. Deputies asked where the boy was, and she told them he was inside the house. Paulynice got her house keys from inside her hair covering and opened the door, according to the report. Deputies noted she was behaving 'oddly,' wouldn't take off her sunglasses and appeared indifferent to their presence. She pointed them toward a room when asked where the boy was, according to the report. Deputies found the boy on the bed, deceased and wrapped in fabric with only his face exposed. Because of how he was wrapped, deputies couldn't see whether there were any signs of trauma. Detectives arrived about 12:30 p.m. and determined the boy could have been dead for several days based on noticeable decomposition. Paulynice didn't make any statements while they executed a search warrant at the home. Before the boy's body was taken away, Paulynice was allowed to say 'goodbye,' according to the report. Although she appeared distraught, detectives noted, it didn't appear sincere. They then interviewed her at the sheriff's office, Sheriff Richard Del Toro said during a news conference later that night. Detectives learned Paulynice last spoke to the boy May 18, and that's when they believe the homicide occurred. 'What we did learn in speaking with the mother is she believes she was being told by God to basically exorcise demons out of the child's body,' Del Toro said. 'When the child had stopped moving and basically passed away at that point, she felt the child had been released of those demons and was waiting for him to basically come back.' Del Toro said Paulynice 'had a lot of highs and lows during the investigation, from laughing at different times at the scene to crying.' Detectives have an idea of how she killed her son based on her confession, Del Toro said. However, they're waiting for autopsy results to corroborate. Sheriff's officials went to the same house May 17, the day before they believe the boy died, for a medical issue Paulynice was having, Del Toro said. Officials had been to the home previously. 'There have been some domestic issues in the past, all the way back to January, involving the mother and a sister who once lived at the home,' Del Toro said, 'but nothing involving the child that would lead us to where we're at today.' Breaking news reporter Will Greenlee contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Autopsy expected to show how 6-year-old boy died in Fort Pierce home
CBC
5 days ago
- General
- CBC
Maple Ridge couple says errors by hospital made devastating stillbirth even worse
A Maple Ridge couple are raising concerns about the way the medical system dealt with their stillbirth. They say losing a child at 33 weeks was hard what happened after made it even worse. They were invoiced for her autopsy.
CBC
5 days ago
- General
- CBC
A B.C. couple waited weeks to get their stillborn daughter's remains. Then, they were invoiced for her autopsy
Nick Bordignon was still deep in grief over the death of his infant daughter last October when an envelope from the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) turned up in his mailbox. It was addressed to the infant he and his wife had named Makayla Poppy when she was delivered at B.C. Children's Hospital four weeks earlier following an ultrasound that showed the child was dead. Inside was an invoice for the cost of an autopsy and an itemized list of tests conducted by a coroner — a bill the PHSA has since admitted the Bordignons were never supposed to see. And to make matters worse, the letter seemed to indicate Makayla's body was still in the morgue — two weeks after the autopsy was performed and nearly a month after she was stillborn. "I remember just standing there in disbelief … and the initial confusion very quickly turned to rage," said Bordignon, who works as a police officer. "I'm no fool, I've seen autopsies performed, they are not pretty … it was soul-crushing and just wrong.... It's just like, okay, so if this is an itemized list, this means the autopsy has been done. Where is she?" 'Who's to say it can't happen again?' CBC News has learned that the Bordignons' concerns about both the invoice and the delay in releasing Makayla's body are now under investigation by B.C.'s Patient Care Quality Review Board — the body tasked with reviewing complaints about health authority policies and procedure. The story highlights what experts say is a lack of standardized care when it comes to stillbirths, which can result in errors that traumatize already grieving families. The Bordignons' are not the first B.C. family to experience delays receiving their baby's body after a birth or stillbirth — a situation apparently compounded by disagreements over who ultimately bears responsibility for delivering the child to the family. Dr. Lynn Murphy-Kaulbeck, president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, says the Bordignons' experience is indicative of wider problems in the system. "That horrible story just speaks to a larger issue of not having things in place," she told CBC. "The system not acknowledging the gravity of what's occurred and not having systems in place so that no parent will ever go through that." Bordignon says losing Makayla already felt "insurmountable." "To have these other things added to it, the invoice, delay of having her return to us, it's things that harm an already terrible experience," said Bordignon. "Even if it's an error, who's to say it can't happen again?" 'Error in coordination' In the hours they had with Makayla's body after she was born on Sept. 25, 2024, Bordignon says he and his wife Laura admired her brunette hair, large feet and "super cute" nose. They also consented to an autopsy that might help them learn more about what had gone wrong. "We kind of looked at it as she will be protecting her future siblings with this knowledge," said Laura Bordignon The family say they were told Makayla's body would be transferred to the B.C. Children's Hospital's morgue for an autopsy. They believed she would then be promptly transferred the funeral home the Bordignons chose to collect her remains. "Walking out of the hospital after a birth without a child is soul-crushing," said Nick. "We know she's not coming home the way that we want her to come home, obviously. But it was this notion that when she'd be home, she'd be safe. She'd be with her parents." According to the invoice, Makayla's autopsy was performed on Oct. 7. In a letter to the family, PHSA apologized and reversed the invoice. After the Bordignons received the invoice in the mail and called the hospital, the process of getting Makayla's remains home unfolded quickly. Makayla's body was released and transferred to the funeral home where it was cremated. Not the first time The Bordignons told CBC they just want a clear understanding of what went wrong. The couple began by filing a letter to Provincial Health Services Authority asking for the invoice to be scrapped and for the hospital to make changes to stop something like this from happening ever again. In a letter, the PHSA apologized for the invoice and said the charges for the autopsy had been reversed. But the Bordignons say they weren't satisfied the hospital's response would prevent the same thing from happening again and requested a face-to-face meeting with leadership. They've been promised a chance to do that in June. Now the issue has been escalated to the provincial Patient Care Quality Review Board. The board says it is experiencing a "backlog" and anticipates the review might not be complete for several months. It's not the first time grieving parents have lost their child's remains to miscommunication. In 2022, Émilie Negahban says her child's body was left unnecessarily in the morgue for eight weeks. Negahban gave CBC a letter she received from PHSA's Patient Care Quality Office after she filed a complaint about how long her son had been left in the morgue. The letter promised to standardize the process to reduce the risk of it happening again. "It's disheartening to see that another grieving family already went through this. They did the proper steps to try to get that preventative measure," said Nick Bordignon. In a statement to the CBC from Ruth Appanah, the executive director of B.C. Women's and B.C. Children's hospitals, the organizations offered a sincere apology to the both families and said "we take these matters incredibly seriously." The statement says that hospital leaders are taking action and that "we have an obligation to learn from families and do our best to improve." 'She's back home' As a maternal fetal medicine specialist, Murphy-Kaulbeck wants a more robust system working to prevent stillbirths while supporting families like the Bordignons in their grief. "If you have a system where you're looking from the beginning to the end, and it's dealt with every time the same way with the same respect and the same process, you won't hear stories like that," she said. The U.K. and Australia have adopted national bereavement care guidelines for families after stillbirth. They have also adopted national action plans to decrease the number of stillbirths from happening in the first place. Even the definition of what counts as a still birth is not standard across nations. In the U.K. a stillbirth is defined as loss that happens after 24 weeks — which sets the rate at about four deaths per thousand births. In Canada, where stillbirth is is defined as loss after 20 weeks, the rate is nine deaths per thousand. Murphy-Kaulbeck has been asked by Ottawa to help develop a national action plan on stillbirth. She cites estimates from the World Health Organization that say 30 to 40 per cent of stillbirths are actually preventable. "As a country, we aren't addressing it to the degree that it needs to be addressed," she said. The Bordignons picked up Makayla's ashes from the funeral home on a rainy day in the first week of November. They chose a small heart-shaped purple urn with a silver butterfly for her. Laura protected it under her jacket. The couple held the box and cried. "We have her on the mantle now," said Nick. "She's back home."
