Investigators: Death of Pompano Beach Child Had 'Something To Do With Piece Of Furniture'
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - A mother wrapping herself in a child's blanket walking outside her Pompano Beach house.
Her little girl tragically died in her home in the 5200 block of North East 14th Terrace.
"I heard just, I'll explain it just the way I felt it, a God awful guttural scream, not kids playing, not people fighting just, something terrible just happened," said neighbor Robert Aratari.
Neighbors were stunned and saddened for the family who lives here.
Investigators say that toddler died after something happened with a piece of furniture at about 8:40 in the morning.
"What I can tell you preliminarily at this point, is that an incident involving a piece of furniture lead to a medical emergency for a child. The child was pronounced deceased," said BSO Spokesman Carey Codd.
Investigators are not giving details about what kind of furniture it was and whether it fell or tipped over, just referring to it as "an incident."
"If it was a piece of furniture and it was an accident then it's even more tragic," said neighbor Cheryl Jones. "Make sure your furniture is secure. Keep an eye on them, especially if they're young enough that they can climb on stuff," she warned.
According to the mother's Facebook page the little girl just turned two a few days ago. Neighbors tell us the family has lived here for a long time.
Aratari said he's seen the little girl playing outside often. "I've seen the mother, Rachal, have a birthday party in the front yard with a pool and kids, a kiddie pool, cake and ice cream, just a good solid healthy happy family," he recalls.
Investigators spent the day talking to people who were home at the time, trying to put all the pieces together.
"This is a devastating loss for this family, any loss of life is tragic," said Codd. "Whenever someone dies, people who were close to that person, who loved that person is suffering, they grieve. It's all that more heartbreaking and sad because it's a young child," he said.
BSO tells us this is still an open and ongoing investigation. Detectives are awaiting autopsy results from the medical examiner's office to determine the exact cause of death.