Records raise questions about tests, observations and the decision to pronounce 18-month-old Vincent Fiordilino dead before results were available.
GILBERT, Ariz. — Newly publicized medical records are sharpening questions about the minutes before an Arizona doctor pronounced an 18-month-old boy dead, more than five hours before a medical examiner’s transporter discovered the child breathing in a hospital morgue.
Vincent Fiordilino arrived at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center shortly after 6 p.m. Feb. 8 following a near-drowning in his family’s swimming pool. Records shared by the family’s attorney indicate an arterial blood gas test was ordered at 6:08 p.m. and canceled, while other laboratory samples were collected at 6:11 p.m. Dr. Aryan Toosi pronounced Vincent dead at 6:20 p.m. Records reviewed by local news organizations indicate some blood-test results were not available until 6:38 p.m., 18 minutes later.
The sequence has become a central issue for Vincent’s family as its attorneys prepare to challenge the care he received. The family’s attorney, John Brewer, has questioned whether test results cited in explaining the medical decision were actually available when the child was pronounced dead. The records do not by themselves establish that a different decision or treatment would have changed Vincent’s medical outcome, and Toosi’s attorney has said the public account does not capture the full medical and factual circumstances.
The case began at about 5:30 p.m. when Vincent was found face down in a backyard pool during a Super Bowl gathering in Gilbert. Relatives attempted CPR, and emergency responders continued lifesaving measures before taking him to Mercy Gilbert. He arrived at the hospital around 6:04 p.m., according to records cited by the family’s attorney. Sixteen minutes later, his death was recorded.
Police body-camera footage and reports describe concerns about signs of life both before and after that declaration. At about 6:13 p.m., footage shows officers asking whether results from a blood-gas test were available, and staff indicated they were not. Police records also describe an officer seeing what appeared to be movement in Vincent’s chest and stomach. A nurse was reported as saying she detected a pulse during the episode.
Toosi nevertheless pronounced the boy dead at 6:20 p.m., according to the records. Police documents say an officer later attempted to raise concerns about possible signs of life. The report describes a tense response from the doctor, who emphasized his medical training and told the officer to allow him to handle the situation. The doctor’s attorney has cautioned against reaching conclusions from the limited information that has become public.
Vincent’s mother, Alexus Fiordilino, has also said family members believed they heard or felt signs that the toddler might still be breathing as they said goodbye. She said staff reassured them that what they observed could occur after death. Vincent was later placed in a cold room used as the hospital morgue.
At approximately 11:52 p.m., a transporter from the Office of the Maricopa County Medical Examiner arrived to retrieve Vincent and found him breathing with a pulse, police records show. He was urgently transferred to Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Vincent survived and eventually returned home, but his family’s attorney says he suffered a severe brain injury and now has major medical needs that could require care for the rest of his life.
Mercy Gilbert Medical Center has said it conducted a thorough review of all aspects of Vincent’s care to determine what happened and make changes intended to strengthen its procedures. The hospital has called the circumstances heartbreaking but has declined to discuss individual treatment decisions because of patient privacy. Toosi’s attorney previously said there is considerably more to the case than has appeared in public reports and later cited pending litigation and confidentiality restrictions in declining to discuss details of the treatment.
The medical questions are unfolding alongside separate law enforcement reviews tied to the broader incident. Gilbert police previously recommended negligence-related charges involving Vincent’s parents after investigating how the child gained access to the pool. Separately, reporting in October said police had asked the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to consider the medical-care portion of the case. The attorney general’s office said it had not decided whether it would conduct a review.
The family says it plans legal action involving the hospital and doctor. No court finding has established that Toosi or the hospital caused Vincent’s injuries, and the available records leave significant medical questions unresolved. What is established is the unusual timeline: Vincent was formally pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m., remained in the hospital for hours and was found alive when a medical examiner’s transporter arrived later that night.
Author note: Last updated Oct. 22, 2026.