Girl in Champion died of asphyxia, coroner says

The child was living with foster parents in Champion.

STAFF REPORT

WARREN — Dr. Humphrey Germaniuk, Trumbull County coroner, has ruled that 21-month-old Tiffany Banks died of asphyxia associated with multiple blunt-traumatic injuries.

Asphyxia refers to the body’s being deprived of oxygen, and blunt trauma refers to physical damage done by something not sharp-edged.

The coroner last week ruled the girl’s death a homicide but had not released the cause.

The new information was contained on a death certificate the coroner’s office mailed Monday to the Warren Health Department.

Tiffany was living with foster parents in a duplex on Champion Street West on April 2 when a 911 call went out at 11:57 a.m. that she was not breathing.

The girl’s foster mother, Bonnie Pattinson, said the girl was asleep for a nap for about 10 to 20 minutes, but when she checked on her, the girl was not breathing, so she took her to the neighbor’s duplex for help.

The neighbor and a Champion police officer tried CPR, rescue breathing and used a mobile defibrillator from the cruiser to try to revive the girl, but she was pronounced dead later at Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital.

The girl was in the permanent custody of Trumbull County Children Services Board. The girl’s birth mother had lost all legal rights to the girl last year.

The coroner’s office, CSB, Champion police and the county prosecutor’s office are investigating the case. No charges have been filed.