A baby died on Monday soon after he was dropped off at a day care in Homestead, Florida, according to the police. Now the parents are still trying to figure out the causes of death.
The Miami-Dade police said that a staff member at the Lincoln-Marti Daycare found 10-month-old baby Tayvon Tomlin unresponsive before he was airlifted to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, the Miami Herald reported. The employee was doing round checks on children when they found Tayvon unresponsive.
Tayvon died less than an hour after being transferred to the trauma unit at Kendall Regional Medical Center, according to KRON4. His father Devonte Tomlin said in a GoFundMe page, which was set up to raise money for funeral expenses, that his son was found in a crib not breathing.
"We are still searching for answers as to how this could have possibly happened," the father wrote.
Meanwhile, the baby's step-grandmother told 7 News that investigators told the family that the cameras inside Tayvon's room were not working at the time.
No details were revealed about the cause of the baby's death, but family attorney Michael Levine said that Tayvon's parents, Tomlin and Keiara Whorley, were provided with conflicting reports about what happened at the day care.
However, Lincoln-Marti Daycare said in a statement that it's working with authorities to determine the causes of death, according to local news station WPLG Local 10.
"As a result of a medical emergency, this afternoon a child was transported from a Lincoln-Marti childcare center in Homestead by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. It was later learned that the child passed away. Lincoln-Marti is working with the authorities to determine what caused this tragic situation and offers its sincere condolences to the family. Out of respect for their privacy, no further comment will be made at this time," the day care said in the statement.
Meanwhile, Tayvon's father has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to financially support the family and to cover the fees for his son's funeral.
"He was a sweet, playful, and energetic baby who was close to walking and brought so much joy into our lives," Tomlin wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Tayvon was my only child and I remember how happy I was when I found out my girlfriend Keiara and I were expecting. The pain we feel now is unbearable. We are also faced with the nightmare of having to bury our baby."
Tomlin also asked for counseling services for Tayvon's older brothers who are 4 and 5 years old "and don't understand why Tayvon is not home."
The grandfather, Sean Tomlin, told WPLG Local 10 that he doesn't understand the reasons behind Tayvon's death because he was playing with his grandson Monday morning and described him as "energetic."
"It was probably a little after 1. My son called me frantic and he was on his way to the hospital. [He] told me that the baby wasn't breathing," the grandfather said. "This morning when I played with him, he was up and happy and energetic, so that's why I don't understand, that's why I'm trying to get answers now because he was energetic this morning when I played with him like I do every morning when his father gets him ready."
A report by the Child Welfare Information Gateway found that non-parents, including kin and child care providers, were responsible for 16.6 percent of child deaths in 2019.
Newsweek reached out to Devonte Tomlin and the Miami-Dade police for comment.
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Fatma Khaled is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. politics, world ... Read more
