An 18-month-old boy was pronounced dead at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, then found alive in the morgue about five hours later, turning a tragic pool rescue into one of the most disturbing medical errors in Arizona this year.
The child had been pulled from a backyard swimming pool during a Super Bowl party around 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 8, after relatives said they had been doing CPR. A police report says he had been floating face down for about 10 to 15 minutes before first responders arrived, and a 911 call from the scene captured a family member reporting the emergency. Once the boy reached the hospital, a doctor pronounced him dead at 6:20 p.m.
That should have been the end of the story. It was not. About five hours later, while the parents were being questioned by detectives at a police station, they learned their son was still alive. A nurse said, “I have a pulse.” Police records say an officer alerted the doctor, who told him, “he was the doctor, he has the medical degree, he went to medical school for a reason, and to let him do his thing,” according to the report. Officers also witnessed the doctor telling hospital staff to stop life-saving measures because of the child’s condition.
The detail that changed everything came after the boy had already been moved to the morgue. Several nurses left the emergency room in tears after the time of death was called, while both parents and police said the child still appeared to be breathing and had multiple gasps for air. Nurses described those breaths as agonal breathing, and an officer heard another gasp about an hour after the boy was pronounced dead. Just before midnight, medical examiner staff arrived to transport the body and found he was still breathing.
He was then life-flighted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital. The latest police update says the boy may have brain damage but has been released from the hospital. The doctor who made the error is not facing criminal charges, but the case is still under review by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
The broader investigation now centers on what happened in the minutes after the rescue and why signs of life were missed. Police records say both parents admitted to smoking marijuana and not watching their son closely during the party, and officers say the parents may face child abuse charges. Even with those questions still open, one fact has already settled: the child was not dead when he was taken to the morgue.
