Arizona parents won't face charges after toddler found alive in hospital morgue
The parents of an Arizona toddler who was found alive in a hospital morgue after being pronounced dead will not face child abuse charges, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.
The then-18-month-old was rushed to a hospital after he was found in the family's swimming pool on Super Bowl Sunday in February. A Gilbert Police Department report at the time said the toddler was declared dead "in error," but was found alive in a hospital morgue nearly six hours later.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said Angelo and Alexus Fiordilino will not be charged in connection with the nonfatal drowning of their son.
The Maricopa County Attorney's Office said the Gilbert Police Department last month recommended child abuse charges against both parents.
The family had multiple childproof locks and other safety measures in place, and multiple adults were present in the home, all of whom believed someone was watching the child, according to the attorney's office.
The investigation also found no evidence that the parents exhibited any obvious signs of impairment, according to the attorney's office.
“To file charges, the state would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury that the parents failed to recognize a substantial and unjustifiable risk, and that this failure was such a serious lapse in judgment that it was a gross deviation from what a reasonable person would have done under the same circumstances,” the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “That's a much higher legal standard than probable cause, which is what police need to submit a case for possible charges.”
After reviewing the facts of the case and all available evidence, senior prosecutors determined the case did not meet the office's charging standard of a "reasonable likelihood of conviction," according to the statement.
The county attorney's office said the recommendation from Gilbert police is the only case submission it has received in connection with the incident.
-ABC News' Amanda Morris and Jessica Gorman contributed to this report.
