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Prosecutors Decline Charges in Arizona Case Where Toddler Was Found Alive in Morgue

Officials said the evidence did not meet the high standard for a criminal conviction, leaving civil claims and hospital review as the family's next options.

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Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, shown here, where an 18-month-old toddler discovered in a backyard pool and taken to the hospital in February, was declared dead before being found breathing hours later in a room that serves as the hospital morgue, according to recently released police records, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Gilbert, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Overview

  • The boy wandered into a backyard pool on Feb. 8, 2026 and was rushed to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, where an emergency physician pronounced him dead about an hour after arrival.
  • Nurses and at least one officer recorded gasps and a pulse while staff continued resuscitation, yet the child was moved to a morgue cold room and was found breathing by medical examiner transport staff nearly five hours later.
  • Gilbert police recommended negligence or child-abuse charges against parents Angelo and Alexus Fiordilino, but senior Maricopa County prosecutors announced Wednesday that the facts did not meet their 'reasonable likelihood of conviction' standard.
  • The toddler survived after being flown to Phoenix Children's Hospital and will require extensive ongoing medical care and therapy, the family and their attorney say.
  • The family plans civil litigation against the hospital and the emergency physician while Mercy Gilbert says it conducted an internal review and the physician remains under public and legal scrutiny though no criminal charges have been filed against medical staff.