Autopsy moved up as Leavenworth police investigate suspicious death of child
An autopsy for an 18-month-old Leavenworth girl who died at a hospital this week was moved up a day to Friday as police investigate her suspicious death, a police spokesman said.
The autopsy for Saraphina Avarose Sanchez was initially scheduled for Saturday, said Deputy Chief Dan Nicodemus with Leavenworth police.
”We are awaiting the results of the autopsy to see what internal injuries the child may have and what the cause of death was,” Nicodemus said in an email. “There are some external injuries, but those weren’t likely to cause the death.”
Nicodemus did not disclose what those injuries were.
Once the autopsy results are in, police will use the information to re-interview those who were caring for the child to help determine who was responsible for causing her death, Nicodemus said.
The girl’s mother, Liberti Figueroa, has set up a GoFundMe fundraising page to help raise money to cover funeral and other expenses.
“I hate to even be making this but I need to get my baby home so she can be at peace with me,” she wrote on the fundraising site.
Police opened a suspicious death investigation after they responded shortly after 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to the Woodland Village Apartments in the 2900 block of Martin Luther King Drive in Leavenworth.
There, officers found the young child not breathing and they began CPR and other life-saving measures. Saraphina was taken to a hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
Nicodemus previously said the infant’s injures didn’t align with the information police were told, so they are investigating the incident as a suspicious death. Police will know the full extent of the infant’s injuries and cause of death once the autopsy is complete.
The Star’s Andrea Klick provided some information for this story.
