Eric Gomez stood by in shock as the Saturday afternoon with his 3-year-old daughter came to an end when emergency paramedics burst into his home.
“I watched them put her in the ambulance,” Gomez said, as he clutched her favorite stuffed animal. “I knew I was going to lose her.”
Gomez, who shared joint custody of Avery-Lee Henri Acuna-Gomez, said the rest of the night was a blur.
The unconscious 3-year-old was transported to the University Medical Center just after 5 p.m. on Feb. 15, according to Eric Finley, the communications director for UMC.
“The child was unresponsive,” Finley said. “Our staff couldn’t revive her.”
Pickup with toy of 3-year-old
Senior Forensic Investigator Quetha Derryberry said the autopsy revealed that Avery Acuna-Gomez had asphyxiated herself with a thin string or cord.
“The ultimate cause of death was organ failure,” Derryberry said. “Her organs shut down from lack of oxygen.”
Eric Gomez, the young father, said he didn’t even have time to grieve before police began questioning him and his family.
Rocky Gomez, older brother of Eric Gomez, said their house was being marked and taped off for investigation by police before the family returned from the hospital.
“People keep driving by and giving us dirty looks,” Rocky said. “They look at us like we did something.”
Lubbock Police Department Sgt. Jason Lewis said juvenile detectives were treating the case as a homicide investigation until the autopsy revealed the cause of death.
“We just wanted to rule out foul play,” Lewis said. “The investigation revealed that the cause of death was accidental.”
Sgt. Lewis refused to make any comments about how the incident occurred, but he did say the Gomez family had been cleared of suspicion.
Rocky Gomez said Avery was playing by herself when the incident occurred.
“Just a baby being a baby,” Rocky said. “It was a sad accident.”
Brandon Andrews, who lives across the street from the Gomez residence, said he woke up from a nap around 7 p.m. on Saturday to see several police vehicles surrounding the house on 42nd Street.
Andrews and his roommates said they didn’t interact much with Gomez, but they were surprised to see officers taping off the property.
“Supposedly someone was murdered,” Andrews said. “That’s what the word on the street was.”
Rocky Gomez said the police were responsible for any negative attention the family has received regarding Avery’s death. He said the police painted the wrong picture to the public.
“They misinformed the news,” Rocky said, as he lit a cigarette. “That’s what happened.”
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