A 3-year-old girl who was found with her head stuck in a kitchen play set at her babysitter’s home in Boynton Beach last month died from “probable positional asphyxia,” the Medical Examiner’s Office determined.
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Briella Holmes and her 4-year-old sibling were at their babysitter’s home in the Meadow Lake subdivision in Boynton Beach the morning of July 23 under the supervision of their babysitter’s husband, according to a Medical Examiner’s Office investigator’s report recently obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
The babysitter left the home to go to the store, and her husband reportedly stayed upstairs while Briella and her sibling played downstairs, with him periodically checking on them, according to the report. About 11 a.m., the man checked on the children and found Briella with her head stuck inside of a hole in the kitchen play set.
She became stuck while trying to reach toys that fell into the play set, her sibling told police, the department previously said.
The babysitter’s husband removed Briella and called his wife, who then called a neighbor, the report said. The neighbor came over and performed CPR before someone called 911.
Boynton Beach Fire Rescue took Briella to St. Mary’s Medical Center in critical condition, and she was pronounced brain dead four days later.
Her manner of death was ruled an accident, the autopsy report shows.
The girl’s mother declined to comment when contacted by a reporter earlier this month.
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“Briella was a bright light in the lives of so many,” the family wrote in an online GoFundMe fundraiser for funeral and memorial costs. “She had a kind heart, a beautiful spirit, and a smile that could light up any room. She touched countless lives with her love, laughter, and compassion, and the impact she made will never be forgotten.”
The owner of the home where the children were being cared for declined to comment when reached by phone Wednesday evening.
The babysitter is not named in the Medical Examiner’s Office reports. Her husband could not be reached for comment.
Chelsea Sanabia, a spokesperson for Boynton Beach Police, said in a statement Aug. 5 that officers are still investigating, and the department would not release additional information.
The Sun Sentinel submitted public records requests last month for the 911 call and police reports regarding the incident. The requests are still pending.
The department released a photo of the play set and said there was nothing on the toy identifying its brand, but similar replica sets are sold online. The play set the girl became stuck in had been bought through Facebook, Sanabia said earlier this month.
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