Baby Oriya died from haemorrhaging, suffocation; parents turn to Police for help

Haemorrhaging and suffocation have been determined to be the causes of death for seven-month-old Oriya Gravesande, according to an autopsy conducted on Wednesday.

The infant died on Tuesday hours after she was dropped off at her day care in Ogle, East Coast Demerara by her mother.

The woman, Shavannie Gravesande, offered few words on Wednesday after she witnessed the post mortem examination at the Georgetown Public Hospital’s mortuary but was visibly hurt and upset.

“The results of the post mortem is haemorrhage to the head and suffocation of the neck.

“So, as I understand it…the baby fall off a bed on her right side and strangle, something around the neck strangle [the baby] and make [the baby] ain’t get to breathe,” the child’s father, Odysseus Clement, told the News Room.

Official sources from the GPHC confirmed the results of the autopsy to be asphyxiation due to compression to the neck and blood spot in the head.

Clement and Gravesande are now turning to the Police for assistance to investigate the child’s death since they believe officials at the day care are culpable.

“Well, now we going and make a report.”

Clement said he received no telephone call or explanation from the administrators of the day care.

“They ain’t call we or nothing. They go to the health centre with we and we left she last night at the station taking reports and that’s it,” Clement further related.

The News Room understands that the baby girl was found unresponsive at the day care and taken to a health centre where medical professionals attempted to resuscitate her about eight times.

When that failed, they called for an ambulance from the Georgetown Public Hospital but it seemed too late.

The child was pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital minutes after she was brought in.

“I need justice, I need somebody in jail, I need that day care to close down because I don’t want any other parent to go through this pain, because it ain’t easy.

“It wasn’t a natural cause of death so I need somebody to be held responsible,” Clement lamented.

The father now wants to ensure that no other parent has to go through what he is experiencing.