Autopsy: Boy, 12, died from asphyxiation at Trails Carolina; homicide was manner of death

By Brittany Whitehead and Jennifer Emert

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    LAKE TOXAWAY, North Carolina (WLOS) — On Monday, June 24, the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner released the official autopsy results of the 12-year-old boy who died in February while in the care of Trails Carolina wilderness therapy program, located in Lake Toxaway.

The autopsy report states the boy’s cause of death as “asphyxia due to smothering.” It also states the manner of death to be a homicide.

While the 12-year-old’s name is included in the report, News 13 has decided not to include his name at this time.

The report says the boy had a history of anxiety, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and migraines and that he was brought to Trails Carolina from his New York home via a transport service at the request of his family due to “ongoing behavioral issues.”

During travel to the camp and after arrival, the boy reportedly had no health complaints or abnormal behavior. He also did not have any known seizure disorder or prior seizures.

Less than 24 hours after his arrival there, he was found unresponsive in a cabin with other adolescent camp attendees and adult counselors.

The autopsy report provides more insight into what happened the night the boy was placed to sleep and before he was discovered to be unresponsive. It states that based on multiple accounts and the investigation, the boy was placed to sleep in a bivy without issue the night of Feb. 2. The report states sometime around 11 p.m. that night, he was moving around and making noise in the bivy, so counselors removed him. A short time later, he relaxed and fell asleep outside the bivy, but because of protocol, “he was made to wake up and re-enter the bivy, at which time he was again secured with the alarm device.”

A short time afterward, a counselor noted he was moving around again 1-2 hours after he re-entered the bivy but stopped moving shortly after, the report says. “Routine checks were performed throughout the night, but due to the outer, opaque layer of the bivy being closed, he could not be visualized,” the report states.

When counselors tried to wake him in the morning, they found he was unresponsive and was “turned around 180 degrees from the entrance, with his head at the enclosed end and his feet near the opening.”

According to the North Carolina Office of Chief Medical Examiner, the asphyxia due to smothering refers to a death due to the inability to breathe in oxygen. The 12-year-old was discovered the morning of February 3,, 2024 turned around in his sleeping bivy, his head, where his feet should have been. The sleeping bag was tapered at the feet. The outer waterproof opening was fully secured with an alarm because, on this particular bivy, the mesh layer was broken and the entire bivy, according to the report, was partially surrounded by a thick plastic sheet canoe.

The report says, “these support restriction of breathing due to these external factors.” The report also says he was placed into this compromised sleeping area by others and did not have the ability to reasonably remove himself from the situation with the alarm securing the opening. That also prevented counselors from visually seeing him and checking on him, as the program required.

He was also found to not be wearing any pants, which the report says was a common practice for him at home.

Although life-saving measures were attempted, once emergency medical personnel arrived, they determined the boy was beyond life-saving measures due to rigor mortis being present, indicating he had likely been dead for several hours.

News 13 reached out to Trails Carolina for a comment on the Office of Chief Medical Examiner’s report. They told us they do not currently have a comment at this time, but once they do they will reach out.

News 13 has reached out to the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office. They told News 13, “The Sheriff’s Office will be reviewing the report released by the OCME in conjunction with the overall criminal investigation and meeting with the District Attorney of Prosecutorial District 42.”

Trails Carolina’s license to operate will be revoked effective 60 days from May 17, 2024.

Prior reporting: On May 17, 2024, in the letter to Trails Carolina’s executive director, NCDHHS said, “Based upon our review, we conclude Trails Carolina, LLC has failed to comply with the provisions of North Carolina General Statute 122C, Article 2, the licensing rules for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services and Client Rights for individuals with mental illness, developmental disabilities or substance abuse issues in the operation of Trails Carolina.” The state revoked the program’s license. So far while both sides have filed briefs in the case, no hearing on the permanent license revocation has been scheduled.

In a report released in April, Trails Carolina employees admitted some responsibility to law enforcement in the February death of the 12-year-old. It was detailed in a survey conducted by the North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation. In the report, employees told law enforcement there were issues with the zipper on the sleeping bivy, they could have done a better job at the night checks of children in their care, and worry the 12-year-old could have suffocated.

According to surveyors, Trails Carolina, would not provide its internal investigation of the 12-year-old’s death despite the Division of Health Service Regulation’s three separate requests made for the report during its survey. At one point, the founder told state surveyors they were unsure if the report was complete.

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