Overview
- Police records and body camera footage show that after an 18‑month‑old was pulled from a backyard pool on Feb. 8 he was taken to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and a doctor pronounced him dead at about 6:20 p.m.
- Officers and at least one nurse documented signs they interpreted as life, including a reported pulse and audible gasping, but the child was still moved to the hospital’s cold room, which served as the morgue.
- Maricopa County Medical Examiner transport staff found the toddler breathing in the morgue around 11:52 p.m., and he was flown to Phoenix Children’s Hospital for emergency care.
- Mercy Gilbert says it conducted an internal review and has limited public comment; Gilbert police recommended felony child‑abuse charges against the parents after toxicology showed THC and the county attorney’s office is now reviewing that recommendation.
- Reports conflict on the child's long‑term prognosis with some accounts citing significant brain injury on early imaging and family updates saying follow‑up scans showed much less damage, and the case has focused attention on hospital death‑pronouncement procedures and pool safety for young children.