JACKSONVILLE, FL- A devastating incident has left a Florida family grieving the loss of their 4-year-old twins, who tragically died after being found unresponsive inside a toy chest at their Jacksonville residence. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office confirmed the incident, which occurred on August 25, stating that despite efforts to resuscitate the children, they were pronounced dead.
The Sheriff’s Office is in the early stages of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the children’s deaths. Initial information suggests that the twins were playing at home and were later discovered unresponsive. The authorities are collaborating with the Medical Examiner’s Office to ascertain the cause of death. As of Tuesday, no charges have been filed, and it remains unclear whether the incident was accidental or involved foul play.
The mother of the twins, Sadie Myers, shared her heart-wrenching account of the incident on Facebook. She explained that the children were put to bed by their father before he retired for the night. Myers returned home from work a few hours later, checked on all her children, and then went to sleep. She noted that the twins often woke up during the night to play, and on this particular night, they chose to play in their cedar toy chest filled with stuffed animals.
Aurora and Kellan Starr were the youngest of Sadie Myers’ four children. She speculated that one of the twins might have accidentally closed the chest’s lid while they were inside of it. Myers highlighted a dangerous feature of wooden toy chests that she was unaware of – they become airtight and soundproof once closed. As the twins slept in the chest, they gradually ran out of oxygen.
The following morning, Myers woke up for work and noticed her two older children playing outside. She initially thought the twins were still asleep. However, when she found them in the toy chest, she immediately sensed something was wrong and tragically, it was too late.
A family member, Deanna Myers, set up a GoFundMe page to support the grieving family. She emphasized that the parents could not have foreseen this tragic incident. Describing the event as “the most horrific and painful thing any parent or sibling could be forced to endure,” the page has raised over $16,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.