GILBERT — Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced on July 30, 2026, that no criminal charges will be filed against the parents of an Arizona toddler who was declared dead after being found in a family pool but was breathing hours later at a hospital morgue. Mitchell stated that a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt was unlikely following her office's review of the incident.

First responders were dispatched to the home on Feb. 8 in response to a reported drowning. They performed life-saving measures on the 18-month-old child before taking him to a hospital where the boy was pronounced dead about an hour later. Gilbert police officers at the hospital said they saw possible signs of life multiple times, but the child was still taken to a “cold room,” which serves as a morgue, according to documents obtained.

About five hours after the child was pronounced dead, police were notified that the child was breathing, and he was flown to another hospital. The boy survived the incident. Gilbert police had recommended negligence charges against the parents, but the county attorney's office declined to pursue them.

Mitchell said the family had multiple childproof locks and safety measures in place, and multiple adults were present in the home, all of whom believed someone was watching the child. She added that the investigation found no evidence of impairment. The investigation also found no evidence that the parents exhibited any obvious signs of impairment, according to Mitchell.

Records indicated tension between officers and a doctor who reportedly told one, “Please do your thing and let me do my thing. I went to medical school for a reason.” Mercy Gilbert Medical Center called the incident “a heartbreaking situation” but declined to release further details. The hospital said it conducted a “thorough review of all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care.”

The doctor involved in this case, Dr. Aryan Toosi, was previously cited in 2020 for a similar misdiagnosis of a patient's death, though no disciplinary action was taken by the Arizona Medical Board. A 2024 report by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office found that 7% of cases involving child deaths in the county involved misdiagnosis or mispronouncement of death, though most were resolved before being transported to the morgue.

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell has previously declined to charge parents in a 2022 case involving a toddler who drowned in a backyard pool, citing insufficient evidence to meet the 'reasonable likelihood of conviction' standard. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office declined to file charges in a 2021 case involving a 2-year-old who drowned in a neighbor's pool, citing 'lack of criminal intent' and 'no evidence of reckless behavior.' In the 2019 case of a 3-year-old who drowned in a backyard pool, Maricopa County prosecutors did not file charges due to 'lack of evidence of criminal negligence' and 'no indication of impaired parenting.' In 2023, Maricopa County saw 12 cases where parents were not charged in child drowning incidents, according to Maricopa County Sheriff's Office data, despite investigations into possible negligence.