The body of the 12-year-old boy who died at a controversial North Carolina therapy camp was found naked below the waist and foaming at the mouth, just hours after counselors watched him suffer a panic attack, reveals a search warrant.
The preteen, identified only as a white male “CJH” in the documents, had arrived at the Trails Carolina campground in Lake Toxaway from New York less than 24 hours before he died.
It is still unclear when the boy died and what caused his death, but forensic pathologists previously stated that it “did not appear to be natural.”
Camp staff told police that CJH had been “loud and furious” upon arriving at Trails Carolina, and refused dinner after he was brought to the property on Friday, February 3.
The boy calmed down later that night and eventually ate some snacks provided by counselors, but again became inconsolable around midnight after he was put in a cabin, where he was ordered to sleep on the floor, per camp protocols. , according to Transylvania. County Sheriff’s Office Order.
CJH was given a sleeping bag that was inside a small tent called a bivouac, which was equipped with an alarm that would sound if he tried to leave at any time during the night.
The 12-year-old boy was found naked to the waist and foaming at the mouth. Facebook / Carolina Trails
Two counselors “stood by the wall” of the cabin while CJH experienced the midnight panic attack, although it is unclear if they offered any help beyond opening the bivouac to check on the boy.
One of the two counselors interviewed by police “did not mention whether he or other counselors attempted to assist CJH with ‘any assistance during her anxiety attack,’” the order states.
Counselors checked on CJH at midnight, 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., they said, and finally found the boy dead, “cold to the touch and stiff,” at 7:45 a.m.
According to the order, counselors stood next to a wall and watched the boy suffer a panic attack. via Inside Edition
According to studies, panic attacks cannot cause death, but they can lead to other long-term health complications.
Police, who had previously said it was clear the preteen had been dead for some time, found the boy in Rigor Mortis lying on his back with his arms across his chest and his knees bent toward the ceiling.
He was wearing a sweatshirt, but was naked from the waist down; His pants and underwear were found on the ground next to his right shoulder.
“During interviews, camp counselors were asked how their pants got to this position and they did not know,” the documents state.
CJH showed small bruises on his lips and in and around his eyes, as well as an extended vein on his neck. He was also foaming at the mouth, “which could have indicated that he ingested some type of poison.”
Camp staff allegedly prevented investigators from the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Social Services from interviewing other minors who were at the cabin by moving them to another location 30 miles away.
The self-described “wildlife camp for troubled youth” criticized the sheriff’s office’s assessment in a statement Monday, claiming the order contained “misleading statements.”
While he said he would not discuss some details “out of respect for the family and the investigation,” the camp disputed that he had “refused” to allow the other minors to speak to investigators.
Police did not release the boy’s identity but described him as a white man from New York. Facebook / Carolina Trails
“Trails asked parents’ permission for the children involved to speak with law enforcement and state regulatory agencies, and we honored each parent’s preferences, as required of us,” the statement said.
“The children were removed from the area to protect them from seeing what was happening, not to avoid investigators. We are a mental health center that treats children with serious and complex mental health diagnoses. “Not removing the children from the area would have harmed their mental well-being.”
Trails Carolina reiterated its previous claims of innocence and that preliminary investigations do not indicate criminal conduct.
Last week, police called the boy’s death “suspicious,” but autopsy results are still pending.
Trails Carolina, which is about 35 miles southwest of Asheville, describes itself as a nature-based therapy program that helps children ages 10 to 17 “overcome behavioral or emotional difficulties, build trusting relationships with their families and peers and achieve academic success.”
The program costs up to $715 per day, depending on the age of the student.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn