The death of a 12-year-old boy at a camp for troubled youth in North Carolina has been ruled a homicide, according to an autopsy report.
The boy died in February while taking part in the nature-based therapy program, Trails Carolina. He had enrolled the day before and did not respond to attempts to resuscitate him.
The cause of death is asphyxia due to smothering, the autopsy said.
According to the autopsy by the state chief medical examiners office, the boy was sleeping in a bivy sack - a sleeping-bag sized one person tent.
The report said the inner mesh panel of the bivy was torn, so staff sealed the outer panel.
Staff then put an alarm on the bivys zipper to prevent the boy from opening it.
He was placed into this compromised sleeping area by other(s) and did not have the ability to reasonably remove himself from the situation with the alarm securing the opening, the autopsy said, according to WBTV.
The standard protocol was deviated from due to using a damaged bivy and securing the outer weather resistant door instead of the inner mesh panel.
Lastly, the counselors could not check on him as they should due to the opaque nature of the outer panel, preventing them from potentially noting the problem and delivering aid before he died. With this combination of factors, the death is best certified as a homicide.
The autopsy said bivvies usually include warnings against fully enclosing the weather-resistant outer layer as it may lead to condensation and breathing restriction.
The Transylvania County Sheriffs Office told NBC News it is reviewing the autopsy.
Trails Carolina describes itself as a therapeutic wilderness program which aims to help troubled teens reach their full potential.
In May, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services revoked Trails Carolinas license after the boys death.
"Troubled teen" facilities, conversion "therapy" camps, etc. need to be completely outlawed yesterday , but there's no hope of them ever getting held accountable for the rampant abuse inherent to their business model.
Staff then put an alarm on the bivys zipper to prevent the boy from opening it.
Glad these fucks are actually being charged, these camps do so much evil and cover up so much abuse.A buddy of mine's brother got sent to one and kept trying to escape.
Every staff member should pay the price, and I'm not talking about just money.
An alarm? Is this slang for some sort of lock or seal or something?I was wondering the same thing. An alarm just makes a bunch of noise, but the article reads as if it was somehow physically keeping him in the bag.
I was wondering the same thing. An alarm just makes a bunch of noise, but the article reads as if it was somehow physically keeping him in the bag.I'd assume it's more like an alarmed locking mechanism, so it sounds off if there's tampering.