Toddler survives two days on his own after mum and baby brother die in US apartment
A woman and her baby have tragically been found dead in a Hollywood apartment, leaving her two-year-old boy trying to survive on his own while badly dehydrated.
Australian Erika Tomassian, who attended Meadowbank TAFE in Sydney and studied Film and TV Production, was found after police responded to calls of a child screaming inside a second-floor apartment on Monday.
It is believed Ms Tomassian collapsed while feeding the younger boy Michael and that he choked to death.
The older boy Nathan was taken to a local hospital in stable condition, a spokeswoman with the LAPD said.
The LAPD said the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) will handle that child's placement.
Investigators are looking into the woman's death and have ruled the one-year-old boy's death as accidental, the spokeswoman said.
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Ms Tomassian's identity was confirmed by friends in the local community who also worked as a marketing director at 7 Stars Production.
Neighbours told media that Ms Tomassian had recently adopted Nathan and Michael before the tragedy.
The new mother had not been feeling well and sought medical attention and was ultimately diagnosed with bronchitis, ABC7 reported.
When a neighbor who knew Tomassian had been sick could not get in touch with her, he went to her apartment, hearing a child crying and called 911, wrote ABC7.
She was reportedly found near the foot of her one-year-old boy's high chair.
The pair reportedly may have been dead for two days before they were discovered.
Morning news break – October 7
