WATONGA -- The Blaine County toddler who died in June suffered blunt force trauma to the head, officials determined, though they didn't offer an opinion as to how that trauma occurred.
The Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner's office originally listed Zavien's death as accidental, but the pathologist who performed his autopsy notified his family last week that she would be changing the ruling to "undetermined."
"In my professional opinion, the most probable manner of death is accident," she wrote in an email reviewed by the Watonga Republican, but she acknowledged the event that caused the injury “was reported to have been unwitnessed.”
“Because there is also a real possibility that a non-accidental event did occur, I am amending the manner to undetermined,” she said.
Zavien’s head injury caused bruises on his brain and forehead, bleeding in his brain and eyes, and swelling, the autopsy shows.
In addition to the blunt force injury, Zavien’s autopsy also found evidence of bronchopneumonia, which the examiner believes could have been caused by the mechanical ventilator Zavien was on in the hospital. It says Zavien tested negative for COVID-19 but positive for a parainfluenza virus that can cause respiratory illnesses like bronchitis and pneumonia.
Zavien's death has been under investigation since shortly after the injury. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation released a public statement at the time confirming that it was involved.
OSBI spokesperson Brook Arbeitman confirmed in September that the case is "still open."
"No additional information to release at this time," Arbeitman said in an email.
Zavien died on June 21, three days after he was airlifted to Oklahoma City from Watonga. His family says he was at a babysitter's house when they received a phone call saying Zavien had an accident and was unresponsive.
His autopsy was performed on June 22.
The babysitters claimed Zavien had fallen from a bunk bed, but his family suspects foul play. Zavien’s grandmother Saroya Kinyon says she's spoken to child abuse specialists who think so, too.
The EMS report from that day, provided to the Watonga Republican by Zavien’s family, notes that Zavien’s babysitter “kept saying ‘I’ve told him to stay off that bunk bed.’”
“She seemed very distraught,” it says.
Saroya Kinyon told the Watonga Republican she believes there’s “no way” the injury was caused by a short fall. The EMS report estimates the reported fall at 6 feet.
Zavien was buried in late June in the family's native Iowa. He was only 2 years old.