Gilbert Parents Face Criminal Neglect Charges After Toddler Declared Dead Was Found Alive in Hospital Morgue

A miracle recovery and a criminal investigation

An 18-month-old Gilbert boy who was declared dead after a near-drowning was found breathing in a hospital morgue hours later. Gilbert police are now recommending criminal neglect charges against his parents, according to recently released police records.

Vincent Lorenzo Fiordilino was discovered floating face down in a backyard pool on Feb. 8 during a family Super Bowl gathering. First responders arrived at the home around 5:30 p.m. and performed life-saving measures before transporting the toddler to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center.

"Thank you for your prayers, your kindness, and your support for baby Vincent — our miracle fighter," the family's GoFundMe page states.

The death declaration and the discovery

At Mercy Gilbert, Dr. Aryan Toosi pronounced the child dead about an hour after he arrived, according to the police report. The child was moved to the hospital's "cold room," which serves as the morgue.

Nearly six hours later, a team from the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner arrived and found the boy still breathing. Vincent was immediately airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital for treatment.

Police records show that two Gilbert officers observed what appeared to be signs of life multiple times after the death declaration. A nurse told an officer she detected a pulse after the child had been pronounced dead, according to the report.

"I went to medical school for a reason," Dr. Toosi told an officer during the incident, according to the police report. "Please do your thing and let me do my thing."

The physician directed hospital staff to stop life-saving efforts. Nurses told officers the movements they observed were consistent with agonal breathing, an involuntary reflex that can occur near death.

Dr. Toosi is not facing criminal charges. His attorney, Scott Holden, told the Associated Press that "there is much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far."

Police point to parental neglect

Gilbert investigators concluded that both of Vincent's parents had smoked marijuana before the incident and failed to supervise the child. The police report noted a strong odor of marijuana at the home and open doors that allowed unsupervised access to the pool.

Gilbert police submitted the case to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for possible child abuse charges. The prosecutor's office said it is reviewing the case and declined further comment.

Two relatives frantically called 911 to report the drowning. One caller said the toddler was unconscious, and people at the scene could be heard shrieking, according to a 911 recording released by Gilbert police and aired by AZFamily.

Hospital launches internal review

Dignity Health, the parent organization of Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, called the incident "a heartbreaking situation." The health system said it conducted a thorough review of all aspects of the care provided.

"We immediately conducted a thorough review of all care provided to understand what happened and implement significant changes that strengthen our care processes," Dignity Health said in a statement.

The hospital declined to release further details about the case.

Vincent continues his recovery

According to the family's GoFundMe page, Vincent suffered kidney, lung, and liver failure after the near-drowning. He underwent weeks of intensive treatment at Phoenix Children's Hospital.

Follow-up MRI scans showed no brain damage, though one scan revealed a small area of bruising that doctors expect his developing brain to compensate for over time, according to the fundraiser.

Vincent has been released from the hospital and continues to undergo therapy and medical check-ups.

Mistaken death declarations are rare

Cases in which someone is mistakenly declared dead and later found alive are uncommon, said Dr. Judy Melinek, a forensic pathologist in San Francisco who is not associated with the case.

"The criteria of death require no heartbeat, no breathing, and no brain activity or neurologic activity," Melinek said.

She noted that such errors tend to be more common in elderly patients than in children. Melinek said determining death depends on a doctor's skill and training, and hospital policies may vary.

"It's either someone inexperienced got involved or a policy failure," Melinek said. "Because people, once they're dead, they don't come back to life. That doesn't happen."

No one answered at the Gilbert home where the near-drowning occurred when an Associated Press photographer visited on Monday.