Marysville toddler reportedly fell down stairs before death

Published 7:07 pm Thursday, May 14, 2009

MARYSVILLE – Detectives were trying to determine how and why a Marysville 15-month-old boy reportedly fell down a flight of stairs hours before the child died.

The boyfriend of the boy’s mother was watching the toddler Wednesday night and told police the child tumbled around 9 p.m. from the second floor down a flight of stairs in a rental unit in the 7400 block of 47th Avenue NE, Marysville police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said. The child was crying after the fall.

The couple decided not to take the boy to the hospital, Lamoureux said.

“It up to parents’ discretion to seek medical help,” he said.

The mom told police when she checked the boy around 3 a.m., he was breathing. The couple went to sleep and when they woke up around noon, the child wasn’t breathing.

They called 911. The child was dead when paramedics arrived. Police were summoned.

“Obviously we’re going to investigate this type of situation,” Lamoureux said.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner is expected to do an autopsy.

The mother and boyfriend were interviewed by detectives. No arrests were made.