Disabled Boy May Have Died Of Heatstroke -- Independent Investigations Continue
LYNNWOOD - A 12-year-old boy found dead in a group home for the disabled may have died of heatstroke after being wrapped too tightly in blankets, his mother says.
Shinaul McGraw, who suffered from a rare debilitating genetic disease called Cornelia de Lange syndrome, was found dead in his bed at 11:45 a.m. Sunday at the New Directions home for the disabled in Lynnwood.
Shinaul was wrapped in a blanket before being put to bed Saturday night.
Patrice Haagen, the boy's biological mother, said Dr. Eric Kiesel, the Snohomish County medical examiner, told the family preliminary findings indicate Shinaul may have died of heat stroke. She said she was told Sinaul may have been wrapped too tightly in the blankets and become overheated.
Kiesel yesterday confirmed he told McGraw's biological family and his foster parents about his preliminary findings. Although he would not disclose the specifics of the conversations, he said the family was free to discuss what he told them.
"This is potentially a sensitive case if it does turn out to be something other than a natural death," Kiesel said. "Or it's a lot of to-do about nothing if it was a natural death. . . . I don't know what it is at this point."
The medical examiner's office has said the cause of Shinaul's death will not be determined until laboratory tests are completed, which could take up to six weeks.
For the past six years, Shinaul had lived with a foster family, but Haagen had regular contact with him.
Haagen said Kiesel also told the family that the bedding Shinaul was wrapped in was soaking wet, that he may have struggled to get air, that he suspected Shinaul had a fever when he went to bed and could have had an infection.
But Ken Maaz, chief executive officer for Second Chance Inc., which operates the home, said the staff told him Shinaul did not have a fever when he was put to bed Saturday night. Even if Shinaul died of heat stroke, it could be because his body malfunctioned, Maaz said.
For several days the home was concerned about Shinaul's profuse sweating and excessive thirst, which started occurring about 10 days after Shinaul came to stay at New Directions about three weeks ago, Maaz said.
New Directions staff members took Shinaul to the doctor once and consulted the doctor by telephone once because of those symptoms. Both times staff members were told not to worry, Maaz said.
Shinaul was wearing a helmet and cotton pajamas. He was wrapped in a thermal blanket with a bedspread pulled over him, Maaz said.
Shinaul was swaddled in a blanket and wore the helmet to keep from injuring himself through uncontrollable movements resulting from the disease.
The state Department of Health and Human Services, the Snohomish County sheriff's office and the medical examiner are independently investigating Shinaul's death.