Death of 2-year-old under investigation

By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Although foul play isn’t suspected, the death Friday of a 2-year-old Marion boy is under investigation.

Dispatchers were told at 1:32 p.m. that the child was unresponsive at a rental home in the 1000 block of Sherman St. in Marion.

They provided instructions in cardiopulmonary resuscitation to a caller while ambulances from both Marion and Hillsboro, along with Marion police, were sent to the home.

The Hillsboro ambulance was called off after Marion ambulance and Marion police arrived.

A coroner was called and pronounced the child dead, ambulance director Curt Hasart said.

A coroner’s report filed by Don Hodson estimated that Anthony Jacob Schadel had died around 7½ hours earlier, at 6 a.m. Friday, after being put to bed at 1:30 a.m.

“In my opinion, there was no evidence of injury noted,” Hodson wrote.

Anthony’s mother, Fawn Schadel, told Hodson she had gone to bed soon after putting Anthony to bed and had slept 12 hours.

The boy’s father, Brandyn Schadel, said he had covered Anthony and tickled his tummy before he went to bed at 4 a.m. Anthony squirmed and smiled at him, Brandyn said.

In his report, Hodson wrote that Anthony’s pediatrician in Newton had told him the boy was severely impaired from a genetic neurological disease, was on medication for hypothyroidism, and had been hospitalized in intensive care a few months earlier because of respiratory failure.

The pediatrician told Hodson that Anthony was “neurologically devastated” since his stay in intensive care, and that she was not surprised he had died.

Each time a child dies in Kansas, the death is investigated and reports are sent to the county attorney to determine whether criminal charges are appropriate. A report also is sent to the attorney general’s Child Death Review Board.

The review board studies deaths of children from birth to 17 years old to identify trends and risk factors.

The review board also is intended to improve communication between agencies, record causes of death, investigate suspicious deaths, and help local and state agencies with response to the deaths of children.

The board strives to develop prevention strategies including community education, professional training, and changes in legislation, public policy, or agency practices.