‘Forgotten’ boy died from heart problem

PATHOLOGISTS yesterday ruled out heat stroke and asphyxiation as the cause of death of a five-year-old boy left locked in the car by his father for nine hours.
A port mortem conducted by two pathologists – one for the state and one representing the family – found a heart problem that had not been previously diagnosed.
 “There is a very serious problem in the child’s heart, which was noticed during the post mortem,” state pathologist Eleni Antoniou said after the procedure.
She added that tissue tests would provide the conclusive result.
The boy was also suffering from asthma.
The father, a 41-year-old orthopaedic doctor, was on his way to drop off the child at nursery before 8am yesterday when he got an emergency call from the clinic.
The doctor rushed to the clinic to perform surgery on a patient, leaving his car at the clinic’s uncovered parking lot and locking the doors with the five-year-old still inside. The outside temperature in Larnaca reached 30 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.
After surgery, it appears the father forgot that his son was still in the car and only remembered about him at 4.40pm when his wife called in search of their child after she had gone to the kindergarten to pick him up but he wasn’t there.
The boy was found unconscious in the back seat of the car, with his school bag next to him and a small, empty bottle of water. He was rushed up to the clinic where doctors tried to revive him but to no avail.
Police said they were investigating the case with “seriousness and sensitivity.”
The state pathologist said the boy had possibly been dead for six hours before he was found on the back seat.
“The possibility of heat stroke and asphyxiation is ruled out,” Antoniou told reporters.
She said het final report will be prepared after tissue tests were carried out.
The family has two daughters, aged seven and nine.

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