HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A 13-year-old boy was found dead at a northwest Harris County apartment complex early Monday, according to Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
Initially, deputies said the teen died under suspicious circumstances, but that his death was now considered "undetermined." They're waiting for autopsy results to determine the cause of death.
The sheriff said deputies received a 911 call at 2 a.m. from an apartment unit on FM 1960 near Eldridge Parkway.
The sheriff said the boy was found unresponsive lying in the family room and investigators believe he'd been dead for hours. They said it appeared he was foaming from the mouth.
"Very bizarre situation, we don't know exactly what led up to this unfortunate death of this teenager," Gonzalez said.
The sheriff said the boy was sleeping in the fetal position on the living room floor where family members said he often slept.
The people living in the unit told deputies that at around 8 a.m. on Sunday, the boy said he felt warm and that his stomach hurt so he was given some aspirin and then went to sleep.
Family members tried to check on the teen around 3 p.m., but he wasn’t responding. The family said it appeared that he was in a deep sleep. They didn't call for help until 11 hours later.
"I wish they would've called much sooner or sought medical attention much sooner,” the sheriff said. “Clearly, he was unresponsive for several hours and according to the EMS on the scene, even life-saving measures weren't really reasonable at that point. It had appeared he'd been dead for several hours.
Someone who said they were a family member reached out to KHOU 11 News via social media. They said the boy was a smart and kind kid who loved his family. They said he would have turned 14 years old next month.
According to the sheriff, there were six adults and seven kids that were in the three-bedroom apartment when this happened. The children range in age from an infant up to 17 years old.
KHOU 11 also learned that just a day before the family had another death in the family.
Neighbors we talked to told us their hearts go out to them.
"My prayers go out to the family, I mean regardless of what happened my heart goes out to them, I have children, grandchildren, and I'm just surprised something like that occurred here," Wanda Fontenot, neighbor, said.