Girl, 3, eats leftovers for 2 days after mom dies - police coax her 2 drag over table & unlock door

[Liberal_in_LA]

that a big task for a 3 years old - dragging coffee table over to climb on a unlock the door. No alternatives for the cops to open the door?

Girl, 3, eats leftovers for 2 days after mom dies

A 3-year-old girl comforted herself with her favorite toy and ate cheese, leftover lasagna and milk for two days after her mother died unexpectedly in their New Zealand home.

The girl's uncle, Pete Silbery, told The Associated Press on Friday that Shylah Silbery managed to open the fridge and comfort herself with a teddy bear named "Possum" after Lauren Silbery, 28, died.

-----------------------------

Police coaxed Shylah to drag a coffee table to the door so she could reach the lock and unlock the door, before she told them, "Mummy won't wake up," Silbery said.

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Shylah spent several days in a hospital recovering from dehydration and diaper rash.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/11/03/international/i193238D07.DTL#ixzz1dEFWfaoT

[OneGrassRoot]

1. ...

:cry:

:hug: to Shylah....sweet baby.

[roguevalley]

28. oh god. little angel.

[leeroysphitz]

2. Well, that is officially the sadest thing I've ever heard. n/t

[TwilightGardener]

3. That's sad--and had that happened when she was 2 instead of three, and didn't have

the mental development or height/strength to open the fridge, she might have died too.

[xxqqqzme]

18. There is a world of

developmental difference between a 2 and 3 yr old. My grandson, who will be 2 next month, will go to the pantry and get single serving containers of applesauce or pudding out. He knows where the silverware drawer is and will get his own utensils when I am fixing him something to eat. But opening a refrigerator, no he doesn't have the height to open the door (although he will take stuff out of the bottom freezer).

[Earth_First]

4. Thay poor dear...

:hug:

[Fumesucker]

5. If they had smelled pot smoke there would have been no trouble kicking in the door..

Poor little girl..

:cry:

:hug:

[onpatrol98]

8. I hate to say it...but, you're right.

Or, had there been an outstanding warrant...etc, etc.

[Xithras]

10. To be fair, they didn't know she was dead.

The story says that they could see the little girl walking around, but couldn't see the mother anywhere. How would you respond if you were a deep sleeper napping upstairs, awoke to a crash, and found police officers standing in your living room saying, "Sorry ma'am, but you didn't answer the door..."

Given the circumstances, I think they came up with a pretty good solution.

[Fumesucker]

13. I see your point..

But I think you may have missed part of my own point.

[Liberal_in_LA]

19. You point out stuff I didn't consider. Thanks.

[JHB]

12. Do they do that in New Zealand too?

[Fumesucker]

15. LOL.. I missed that..

It wouldn't surprise me at all if they did but I really have no idea.

America has exported the drug war world-wide.

ETA: I looked it up, pot is illegal in NZ.

[drmeow]

16. Even in New Zealand? n/t

[Fumesucker]

17. It's not legal there..

The land of the free has exported the drug war all over the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis#New_Zealand

Possession of cannabis is illegal in New Zealand and can result in a fine of up to $500 or even a 3-month prison sentence (though the latter is rarely used). Anyone caught in possession of more than 28 grams of cannabis or 100 cannabis joints is classed as a dealer unless s/he can prove they are not. Cannabis is a class C drug in New Zealand, of which the penalty for dealing can result in a maximum prison sentence of 8 years under the New Zealand Misuse of Drugs Act 1975. There have been many public campaigns to decriminalise cannabis but so far none have succeeded.

[drmeow]

21. I wasn't referring to the legality

issue I was referring to the thug-booted police issue!

[Fumesucker]

22. Hopefully NZ is not as far down the road to fascism as we are..

I doubt the culture war is as pronounced there as here but the fact that you can get 8 years for selling some pot is evidence it's not all that great either.

[wickerwoman]

24. It's not legalized but its not really criminalized.

People smoke pot pretty openly on the streets and at concerts. I know a few cops who smoke pot too and don't make much of an effort to hide it.

When I first moved here, we had a lecture from some cops about the differences in the laws here. They said the cop would have to really have a bug up their ass to do you for simple possession. But if you got caught for something else, they might tack it on.

I don't smoke anyway, but my impression is that it's much more openly acceptable here than in the US.

[Lyric]

6. I think every parent of a small child has had a nightmare about this situation.

That poor baby. I can't even imagine what she went through.

:cry:

[Xithras]

7. Poor baby.

I almost hate to say this, but I hope she's young enough to forget about it. That's an incredibly traumatic experience, and I know that sort of thing can do a lot of damage to a young kid. The father of one of my sisters friends passed away when she was about seven. The two of them lived in a remote area and didn't have a telephone, and the girl spent the entire night alone with her dads body before walking a couple miles to a neighbors house the following morning. She was never quite the same kid after that :cry:

[Uncle Joe]

9. That is tragic.

:(

Thanks for the thread, Liberal_in_LA.

[progressoid]

11. 'Mummy's in there.'

"When we lowered the coffin into the grave at the cemetery, though, she pointed at it and said 'Mummy's in there.' It was pretty heartbreaking."

:cry:

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/11/03/international/i193238D07.DTL#ixzz1dEKoongu

[CC]

14. Heartbreaking

Poor kid. Glad the police didn't storm in and make things even more traumatizing. Bad enough you know something is wrong with your mom (if not what) no kid needs a bunch of big, loud people bursting through the door adding to it. I also hope the family gets her counseling over the years since odds are she will remember though not clearly.

[FarCenter]

20. Mum's death leaves tot home alone

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10763780

More details at New Zealand Herald.

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Ok officially stoopid cops. Yes dears, they could legally

Break in.

oh and I am sure even in NZ they had that authority.

[frylock]

25. i would have to think the method they utilized was far less traumatizing..

then kicking the door down.

[mrs_p]

26. one of my worst fears when hubby is away.

poor, poor baby. i'm glad she was physically OK and hopefully, she won't remember.

[Javaman]

27. There wasn't a locksmith in the whole city? They couldn't enter through a window?

very odd.

Poor kid.

[Posteritatis]

29. Once they knew about the situation I'd assume the least traumatic way in would be the best

A stranger coming through a window, picking the lock, or (heaven forbid) actually booting the door open would probably cause a bigger mess than what they did, and by the time there was some contact there they'd be in there shortly one way or another anyway.

The kid was in a horrible enough situation already; an extra half hour (or few minutes, or whatever) spent coaxing her to open the door might have averted some additional damage.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

32. When my youngest brother was about three he slammed the door

and locked himself in the house. (The rest of us were outside for various reasons.) My dad was out of town at a conventio, and my mom's house keys were ...in the house.

Our front door had glass in it, and we could see inside. We tried to get my brother to open the door, but it was beyond his capability. He stood there laughing at us and unrolling a whole roll of Scotch tape. Then he disappeared.

A neighbor suggested calling the fire department. They walked around and saw that the upstairs bathroom window was open, so they took a ladder and sent a guy up there.

When my brother saw this strange man coming down the stairs he screamed, but he soon recovered.

While he was alone in the house, he ate the top frosting off a freshly frosted cake.

[surrealAmerican]

33. Smart kid.

That's pretty funny: he obviously understood the situation, and worked it to his advantage.

Sounds like he must have been a real handful as a little boy.

[SoCalDem]

30. So sad..It reminds me of something that happened to an ex-boyfriend

When he and his brother had left for school, their Mom shot herself to death

His brother was in kindergarten and he was in 3rd grade. When he got home, he found his younger brother sitting on the kitchen floor in a puddle of blood, holding their Mom's hand:cry: he had gotten out of school 3 hours earlier and had found her there..

[lonestarnot]

31. Poor little sweatheart.

:cry:

[surrealAmerican]

34. What a sad story.

poor little child