This is so unbelievably sad.
An Arizona family suffered two tragedies over the weekend when, after suffering a fatal heart attack, a mother collapsed onto her infant son… and accidentally suffocated him.
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In a press conference streamed by local ABC station KNXV, Detective Greg Bacon of the Tempe Police Department described the “very, very tragic thing” which occurred on Saturday. It is believed Larinique Meadows had experienced “some sort of heart condition [or] heart episode” when she collapsed onto her infant son Denari Meadows in their home.
The 38-year-old had been actively researching causes of chest pains on her phone when the incident occurred, after which she died and fell on top of her 4-month-old baby. The medical examiner has yet to determine a cause of death.
Detective Bacon shared:
“It’s very, very sad, and we mourn for that family. Our officers also, it’s a very difficult time for them.”
The mother and son were discovered together downstairs in their townhome by the child’s father around 5 p.m. after he woke up after working a late shift. He had last seen them around 11 a.m. that morning. The detective — who noted police do not suspect any foul play — explained:
“Father seems to be very hardworking, trying to provide for his family. Works nights. Ran some errands that morning for the family — specifically for the baby — so it’s just a very tragic situation and we mourn for them.”
Watch more from the heartbreaking press conference (below):
#NOW Tempe Police giving update after a woman and infant child were found dead inside an apartment/condo on Saturday.
Posted by Mike Pelton ABC15 on Monday, February 3, 2020
According to a 2018 study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the number of babies dying of suffocation prior to turning one has risen in recent years. Though the study found this was largely contributed to by unsafe co-sleeping, the number has still significantly climbed.
It was found that from 1999 to 2015, the suffocation death rate for babies under the age of 1 climbed from 12.4 to 28.3 fatalities per 1,000 infants in the United States. The study also discovered both suffocation and strangulation deaths increased across the board regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, and whether they lived in rural or urban communities.
Study co-author David Schwebel of the University of Alabama at Birmingham shared with Reuters (below) potential reasoning outside of safe sleep recommendations why the number has gone up:
“It may also be that we have dangerous items on the market and in our homes, and they need to be removed.”
We guess you can also add, if you’re feeling any sort of a health scare coming on, get your baby somewhere safe immediately.
Our hearts go out to Larinique and Denari’s loved ones.
[Image via FOX10]
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