Sadie Myers, Jacksonville, Florida mom finds 4 year old twins suffocated to death while playing in toy chest in Facebook post as questions are now raised about the siblings’ deaths.
A tragedy that could have been averted? A pair of 4 year old Florida twin siblings suffocated to death last month after falling asleep in their wooden chest while playing, their mother confirmed in a Facebook post.
Posted Sadie Myers of Jacksonville, FL in part: ‘Not many will know the pain of losing two children at the same time, and losing them in a way that makes no sense, but I have to believe that something in this universe chose them specifically, maybe to protect them from some future tragedy, or maybe because their souls were too perfect for this world.’
The mom says she was at work when her husband, Don Starr, put the twins — Aurora, a girl, and Kellan, a boy — and their two older brothers to bed that Friday night.
Innocence turns to tragedy
Starr worked during the day while his wife worked at night to avoid having to leave their children with a baby-sitter.
At some point early Saturday, the twins woke up and decided to play together.
Myers wrote that the closely bonded brother and sister routinely rose at odd hours and that she would find them sleeping in various places in the morning with toys strewn about their shared room.
‘Friday night, the weird place they decided to snuggle up and go back to sleep was in their cedar toy chest that we use to store all their stuffed animals,’ Myers wrote.
The twins had removed most of the stuffed animals from the chest, but kept a few in place to provide some cushioning.
Myers said that they then fell asleep, each with an arm over the other.
But tragedy would strike.
Frantic search the following morning for missing twins
Explained Myers, ‘Sometime during their sleep one of them must have moved or kicked during a dream and it caused the lid of this old wooden cedar chest to close.’
When Myers awoke in the morning, Myers said the twins weren’t in bed and were not immediately visible.
The entire family searched about the house, calling for the two children.
Finally, one of their older brothers opened the chest and saw them inside.
Unaware of the tragedy that had just befallen his family, the boy assumed they were still asleep.
‘Mommy!,’ he exclaimed proudly. ‘I found them! They are so silly just sleeping in the toy box.’
But Myers said she realized instantly that the twins were gone.
New questions raised as police remain tight lipped
‘I went to check and within a few seconds I knew something wasn’t right, but I also quickly realized it was already too late,’ the mom wrote. ‘It makes no sense to me and never will.’
Jacksonville sheriff’s deputies arrived, but life-saving efforts were futile.
The sheriff’s office said the investigation was still in a ‘very early stage’.
“We are working with our partners at the Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause of death,” police stated according to People. ‘At this time, we don’t know if this is an accident or if foul play is involved.’
Commentators on social media wondered out aloud how the siblings could have died, why the alleged ‘air tight’ toy chest did not have a way to be opened from inside or air vents, along with some expressing concerns of potential child negligence.
Other commentators were alarmed by the creation of a GoFundMe account for the deceased siblings which to date had raised just on $23K.
Wrote one commentator, ‘This is certainly a tragedy but why A Go Fund Me????????? This is out of hand already.’
Police to date have offered few details, while an official autopsy report has yet to be released. To date no charges have been made.
