Pierce County Medical Examiner confirms Tacoma 12-year-old’s cause of death
The 12-year-old boy found dead in a Tacoma apartment building in September died of a heart condition, the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed Thursday.
Preston Hemingway-Lux died Sept. 19 of dilated cardiomyopathy of undetermined etiology, the Medical Examiner’s Office said in a new release. His manner of death was determined to be natural.
Dilated cardiomyopathy, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a disease that causes the heart’s chambers to enlarge, making it more difficult to pump blood to the rest of the body. An undetermined etiology means the underlying cause is unknown, which, according to the National Institutes of Health, is the most common etiology of dilated cardiomyopathy.
The Tacoma Police Department initially investigated the boy’s death as suspicious, and a search-warrant application for the apartment complex where he was found said there was probable cause to believe second-degree murder had been committed. The Police Department’s investigation was on hold for months while the Medical Examiner’s Office determined Preston’s cause and manner of death.
Officer Shelbie Boyd, a spokesperson for the Police Department, confirmed Thursday that the case is closed.
Police and Fire Department personnel responded to the apartment in the 4000 block of South Lawrence Street, a 55+ living community, after dispatchers received a report of a child that wasn’t breathing. The 911 caller said blood was coming from the child’s nose and mouth.
Preston was declared dead after emergency responders found him in a third-floor unit.
Preston’s mother previously told The News Tribune that the Medical Examiner’s Office informed her that it had found an issue with her son’s heart that wouldn’t have been detected in regular doctor visits.
An obituary for the boy said he was a student at First Creek Middle School in Tacoma, and he had four brothers and six sisters.
