4-year-old Sammamish girl's death ruled an accident
By KEVIN ENDEJAN
Issaquah Reporter Assistant editor
August 31, 2012 · Updated 9:59 AM
Victoria Churin, 4, died Tuesday night in Sammamish in what the King County Medical Examiner's Office has ruled an accident.
The girl, who initially reported by authorities to be 7, died as the result asphyxia due to accidental strangulation while playing with a jump rope in the Samantha Smith Elementary School playground.
Police responded 6:30 p.m. Tuesday after a 911 call was received. The victim and her twin brother were at the school playground with an adult, live-in caretaker.
The girl had reportedly been playing with a jump rope sometime before the incident happened. At some point the caretaker and the 4-year-old boy went to a nearby location to pick blackberries while the girl stayed on the playground to play.
When the caretaker and boy returned to the playground they found the girl on the slide with the rope around her neck. She was rushed to a Overlake Hospital where she died soon after.
Detectives said there was a substantial language barrier during the initial investigation and the caretaker was extremely distraught making it difficult to get information.
Contact Issaquah Reporter Assistant editor Kevin Endejan at kendejan@issaquah-reporter.com or 425-391-0363, ext. 5054.
Comment on this story.
So keep your comments:
- Civil
- Smart
- On-topic
- Free of profanity
We ask that all participants own their words by logging in with their Facebook account. It's a simple process that will take seconds and helps keep our comments free of trolls, cranks, and “drive-by” commenters. We reserve the right to remove comments from anyone using screen names, pseudonyms or false identities. Please refer to our Terms of Use for full detail on participating on our site.
