Toddler declared dead at Arizona hospital found breathing in morgue, family says

Mother says 18-month-old was alone for five and a half hours before medical examiner staff discovered he was alive

By LineZotpaper

Published22 October 2026

Read Time3 min

The mother of an 18-month-old Arizona boy pronounced dead by an emergency doctor after a drowning incident has described the ordeal of discovering her son was alive and alone in a hospital morgue for five and a half hours. Alexus Fiordilino says there is "no happy ending" because Vincent suffered severe brain damage and will need constant care for the rest of his life.

Vincent's parents, Alexus and Angelo Fiordilino, say the ordeal began on February 8 when the toddler was found floating in the family's swimming pool during a Super Bowl party. His parents performed CPR before he was taken to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, where an emergency department doctor pronounced him dead about an hour after arrival.

Alexus Fiordilino told ABC 15 that when she arrived at the hospital she thought staff would help her, but instead was told she had to say goodbye. She described holding her son, who felt "so cold", and said her mother-in-law told her she thought she heard Vincent breathing.

Five hours after he was declared dead, staff from the county medical examiner's office arrived at the morgue to transport the boy's body and discovered he was alive. He was rushed to Phoenix Children's Hospital, where tests showed he had suffered severe brain damage and would require constant ongoing care.

A police report cited by the Daily Mail said other people also saw the child drawing breath, with an officer overhearing a nurse say "I have a pulse" before the revival attempt was halted by the emergency department doctor, Aryan Toosi, who then said he would like to call time of death. Lawyers for the family have questioned Dr Toosi's use of blood gas results to justify pronouncing the boy dead, saying hospital documents show those results were not received until 18 minutes after the death was recorded at 6.20pm.

Mercy Gilbert Medical Center's operator, Dignity Health, called the situation "heartbreaking" but cited patient privacy in declining to share information. A lawyer for Dr Toosi said his client's thoughts were with Vincent and his family, and described his commitment to providing healing, safety and comfort to his community.

Local police investigations have not established probable cause for criminal conduct, and the case is believed to have been referred to the state Attorney-General's office for review. A GoFundMe campaign set up to help with Vincent's therapy, ongoing medical monitoring and support for his healing organs has raised more than $US24,000, just short of its $28,000 target.

Analysis

Why This Matters

The case raises serious questions about how a hospital could declare a child dead while he was still breathing, and about the checks required before a body is moved to a morgue.
Vincent's family now faces a lifetime of caring for a child with severe brain damage, with substantial ongoing medical costs partly covered by public fundraising.
The referral to the state Attorney-General's office means the case could become a formal investigation into the medical response.

Background

Cases in which a person pronounced dead is later found alive are extremely rare and usually involve errors in assessing vital signs in high-pressure emergency settings. Medical protocols generally require multiple checks for signs of life before a death is certified, and morgue transfers are meant to be handled with care to prevent such errors. In this case, a drowning in a home pool triggered the emergency response, and the hospital's pronouncing of death was later called into question by the family's lawyers.

Key Perspectives

Family: Alexus and Angelo Fiordilino say the medical response failed their son, and they are particularly distressed that Vincent was alone in the morgue for five and a half hours. Their legal team disputes the doctor's use of blood gas results to justify declaring him dead, noting the results arrived after the recorded time of death. Dignity Health: The hospital operator describes the situation as heartbreaking but says it cannot comment on patient care because of privacy obligations. Dr Toosi's lawyer: Expresses sympathy for Vincent and his family and describes the doctor's commitment to high-quality care and community safety, without addressing the specifics of the allegations. Authorities: Local police have not established probable cause for criminal conduct, but the referral to the state Attorney-General's office suggests the case remains under official scrutiny.

What to Watch

Whether the state Attorney-General's office opens a formal review or takes further action.
Any internal hospital review into how the death pronouncement and morgue transfer procedures were handled.
Vincent's health and ongoing care needs, and whether the family's fundraising campaign reaches its target.

Sources

Alexus Fiordilino: Mum whose toddler was found breathing in morgue after being declared dead speaks out · 7NEWS

Checked

10 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 7 supported.

Show each claim

Partly supportedThe toddler was found breathing in the morgue, with the headline attributing that account to the family.7NEWS: “Five hours after the youngster was declared dead, staff for the County medical examiner who arrived at the morgue to transport his body discovered that he was, in fact, alive.”
SupportedThe mother says her 18-month-old son was alone for five and a half hours before medical examiner staff found he was alive.7NEWS: ““He was alone. He was alone for five-and-a-half hours. How do you do that to a baby?””
Not in the sourcesThe boy was pronounced dead after a drowning incident.
SupportedAn emergency department doctor pronounced the boy dead about an hour after he arrived at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center.7NEWS: “However, he was pronounced dead by an emergency department doctor only an hour after his arrival.”
Partly supportedTests showed Vincent had severe brain damage and would need constant care for the rest of his life.7NEWS: “Vincent was then rushed to Phoenix Children’s Hospital where tests revealed that while he would live, he had suffered brain damage to such a severe extent he would require constant ongoing care.”
SupportedAlexus said there was “no happy ending.”7NEWS: “Alexus Fiordilino said there was “no happy ending” for the Arizona family”
SupportedAlexus said Vincent felt “so cold” when she held him.7NEWS: “She described the heartbreaking moment she was forced to say goodbye to her young son, who now felt “so cold” as she held him.”
SupportedA police report cited by the Daily Mail says an officer heard a nurse say, “I have a pulse,” before Dr Toosi halted the revival attempt.7NEWS: “The police report cited an officer hearing a nurse stating “I have a pulse” before the revival attempt was halted by the emergency department doctor”
SupportedHospital documents show blood gas results were not received until 18 minutes after the boy was declared dead at 6.20pm.7NEWS: “hospital documents revealing that those results were not received until 18 minutes after the child was declared dead at 6.20pm.”
SupportedLocal police investigations have not established probable cause for criminal conduct, and the case is believed to have been referred to the state Attorney-General’s office for review.7NEWS: “While local police investigations have not established probable cause for criminal conduct, it’s believed the case has been referred to the state Attorney-General’s office for review.”