BOY, 18 MONTHS, DECLARED DEAD, FOUND BREATHING IN MORGUE
An Arizona toddler declared dead after a pool accident was found breathing in a hospital morgue hours later, according to police.
Vincent Lorenzo Fiordilino was 18 months old when he was found floating face down in the family pool in Gilbert on Super Bowl Sunday, February 8, 2026, NBC News reported. The family had gathered at home to watch the game when he wandered into the pool area.
A relative tried to revive Vincent with CPR before he was taken to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. There, the police report said, emergency-room doctor A. Toosi said, “As long as there are no objections, I’d like to call time of death.”
What the police report says
Toosi then declared the boy dead at 6:20 p.m. and requested a moment of silence, the report said.
Vincent’s parents and officers said he appeared to keep gasping after that declaration. Hospital staff reportedly described the breaths as agonal breathing tied to compressions, oxygen and possible pressure applied by family members.
Around 7:18 p.m., a detective reported hearing “another audible gasp” as workers got ready to move Vincent to the “cold room.” Minutes later, the cold-room door was closed, the report said. The room was kept between 36 and 39 degrees.
At 11:52 p.m., the medical examiner’s team found Vincent breathing in the morgue. He was airlifted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
“The child ultimately survived and has been released from the hospital,” the Gilbert Police Department said in a statement.
A family crowdfunding page said Vincent was breathing with ventilator assistance and had avoided serious brain damage. It said he would need ongoing medical monitoring and extensive therapy.
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center called the incident “a heartbreaking situation” and said it had conducted an internal review. It did not disclose the results, and it declined to say whether the doctor who pronounced Vincent dead was still on staff.
Toosi referred NBC to lawyer Scott Holden. Holden said there was “much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far.”
What happened next
Gilbert Police recommended that Vincent’s parents be charged with child abuse. Police alleged the parents failed to supervise him, allowing him to get into the garage, go into the backyard and fall into the pool.
Both parents were arrested on suspicion of child abuse on May 16, 2026, the Arizona Republic reported. Neither was booked into a cell or fingerprinted.
The police report also said, “Both admitted to smoking marijuana the morning of the drowning.”
On July 29, 2026, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced it would not file charges, FOX 10 Phoenix reported. Prosecutors said the case did not meet the “reasonable likelihood of conviction” standard.
“The family had multiple childproof locks and safety measures in place, and multiple adults were present in the home, all of whom believed someone was watching the child,” the office said in a statement.
“Additionally, the investigation found no evidence that the parents exhibited any obvious signs of impairment,” the statement continued.
The decision not to charge the parents does not address the hospital’s internal review. The county attorney’s office said no other charges related to the incident had been submitted for review, USA Today reported.
