Overview
- Emergency crews brought 18-month-old Vincent to Mercy Gilbert after he was pulled from a backyard pool on Super Bowl Sunday in February, and a hospital doctor pronounced him dead that evening.
- Hospital staff moved the child to a cold room for transfer to the medical examiner and morgue workers later found him breathing, after which he was airlifted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital for treatment.
- The Gilbert Police Department has recommended felony child-abuse charges against the parents and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is reviewing that recommendation; no criminal charges have been filed.
- Police records say both parents admitted to using marijuana at the party and investigators allege impairment led to a lapse in supervision, and documents and bodycam footage have focused scrutiny on the physician’s pronouncement and on hospital procedures.
- Vincent has been released from hospital care but needs ongoing therapy and monitoring, and the case has prompted internal hospital review and wider questions about how death is determined and how hospitals handle contested breathing signs such as agonal respirations.