‘A tragic death:’ 6-year-old girl dies after being found unconscious in Bluffton home, police say
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comments from Gabri Webb, the child’s mother.
A 6-year-old girl died after being found unconscious in a Bluffton home the morning after Christmas, according to reports from the Bluffton Police Department and the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
Armani Kimayla Roberts was a first grade student at Red Cedar Elementary.
Police were called to a home on Quinn Court just after 11 a.m. December 26 in response to a report of a child not breathing, the Sheriff’s Office report said.
First responders performed CPR on Roberts until EMS arrived, but she was pronounced dead at 11:37 a.m., a Bluffton Police report said.
Roberts had pulled a mylar balloon over her head, Bluffton Police spokesperson Capt. Joe Babkiewicz said Thursday afternoon.
He said there is nothing suspicious about the death.
“It’s just a tragic death,” Babkiewicz said.
Gabri Webb, Roberts’ mother, told The Island Packet in a phone conversation Monday (Jan. 7, 2019) morning that the information reported by the police in the story was incorrect and said Roberts did not put a balloon over her head.
After the story was published, Amina Fields, who identified herself as part of the family, described the Packet’s story as having false information in a Facebook comment but did not specify what part of the police account the family disputed and asked that the family be allowed to grieve in peace.
An autopsy was performed Friday but the results and cause of death are still pending, according to the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office.
Funeral services for Roberts were Saturday at Campbell Chapel AME Church in Bluffton, according to her obituary. There will be no public viewing.
Red Cedar Elementary will have extra counselors available Monday when students return from break, Beaufort County School District spokesperson Jim Foster said Thursday afternoon.
This story was originally published January 3, 2019 at 3:27 PM.
