Arizona Toddler Declared Dead, Found Breathing in Hospital Morgue Hours Later

An 18-month-old boy pulled from a backyard pool near Phoenix was declared dead by a hospital doctor in February, only to be discovered breathing five hours later inside the facility's morgue, according to police records obtained by CBS News and the Associated Press.

The boy, identified by his family's GoFundMe page as Vincent Lorenzo Fiordilino, was found in a pool at a home in Gilbert, Arizona, on February 8. First responders were dispatched around 5:30 p.m. after a reported drowning, according to the AP. Officers and paramedics performed life-saving measures at the scene before rushing him to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center.

About an hour after arrival, Dr. Aryan Toosi pronounced the child dead. Bodycam footage obtained by Phoenix station KPNX-TV captured the moment: "If there's no objections, I'd like to call time of death. Time of death 18:20. Moment of silence."

Officers reportedly flagged signs of life

According to police documents cited by CBS News, two Gilbert police officers observed possible signs of life in the child multiple times during the response. Despite that, the boy was moved to the hospital's so-called cold room, where bodies are kept after death is declared.

Bodycam audio captured Dr. Toosi pushing back on an officer's concerns, telling him, "Please do your thing and let me do my thing. I went to medical school for a reason."

Roughly five hours after the boy was pronounced dead, hospital staff notified police that he was, in fact, breathing. A team from the local medical examiner's office arrived at the cold room to retrieve the body and instead found him alive. He was flown to a second hospital and has since survived and been released, according to the AP.

Police recommend charges against parents

Gilbert police told CBS News they are recommending negligence charges against the boy's parents. Investigators said they detected a strong odor of marijuana inside the home and found open doors that could have given the toddler unsupervised access to the pool.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office confirmed it is reviewing the case but declined to comment further as of Monday, per the AP. No charges have been filed as of this writing. No one answered the door at the family's home when an AP photographer visited.

That timeline raises a serious, still-unanswered question that has nothing to do with the parents: how a licensed physician came to declare a breathing child dead, and why two officers' concerns, according to the police documents, weren't enough to stop it.

The hospital and doctor respond

Mercy Gilbert Medical Center said in a statement that it conducted "a thorough review of all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care." The hospital called the incident "a heartbreaking situation" but declined to release further details, including whether any staff faced discipline.

Scott Holden, an attorney representing Dr. Toosi, told the AP he would not issue a full statement on the doctor's behalf "other than to assure you that there is much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far." Holden is explicitly disputing that the released bodycam footage and police narrative tell the complete story, and no medical board finding or licensing action against Toosi has been reported.

Police records and bodycam video, as reported by CBS News and KPNX-TV, show officers raising concerns and a doctor declaring death that turned out to be wrong. What is not established is a medical explanation for how that happened, whether any hospital protocol was violated, or whether Arizona's medical board has opened a review of Dr. Toosi. None of those have been confirmed as of Monday.

The family's ongoing recovery

The GoFundMe page set up in February to help cover the boy's medical costs describes him needing extensive therapy going forward. "Thank you for your prayers, your kindness, and your support for baby Vincent, our miracle fighter," the page reads, according to CBS News.

The unresolved questions are stacking up on both sides of this case. Will the Maricopa County Attorney's Office actually file negligence charges against the parents, and on what specific evidence beyond the marijuana odor and open doors? And separately, will Mercy Gilbert Medical Center or Arizona's medical licensing board release findings on how a doctor came to call time of death on a child who was, hours later, found breathing? Neither institution has provided a timeline for further disclosure.