Romanian baby’s death still a mystery

An autopsy on the body of a five-month old baby that was found dead by the babysitter has failed to show the cause of death.

According to local media, a baby sitter was caring for a young infant at a Nicosia residence on Tuesday while the parents, both from Romania, were out working. The baby sitter went to check on the baby in the afternoon around 1:30pm and noticed it was unconscious.

The baby sitter, described as a Greek Cypriot female, sought help from a relative and also called for an ambulance, according to Kathimerini Cyprus, with medics rushing the baby around 2:10pm to the Emergency Room at Nicosia General Hospital. Doctors on duty attempted to resuscitate the baby but to no avail.

A post mortem on Wednesday morning was conducted by forensic pathologist Angeliki Papetta on behalf of the state and Panicos Stavrianos on behalf of the family.

Autopsy results failed to show the exact cause of death while tissue samples were taken from the baby for lab tests. The forensic pathologists also ordered toxicology reports.

Authorities initially were said to be investigating a case of “sudden death” with no other scenarios being considered. The parents, the babysitter, and the child’s pediatrician were among a number of witnesses expected to give statements to police.

Media reports said the child had a clean medical history, while experts on local television outlets speculated there could be a number of causes for sudden death. In some cases, experts say, the cause of death in a baby may never be fully known.

The story has been updated with autopsy results and information about the infant’s parents