An 11-year-old Australian boy has died of a snake bite after his father sent him to bed and told him to “sleep it off,” according to an inquest document from the Coroners Court of Queensland [sic].
Tristan Frahm Died in 2021
Tristian James Frahm was discovered dead on Nov. 21, 2021 at a house in Murgon, which is located in the South Burnett Region of Queensland. An autopsy revealed that Frahm 2″died from extensive internal bleeding due to brown snake envenomation.” “Brown snake venom can cause a venom induced consumption coagulopathy (VICC) which can lead to profound anticoagulation meaning the blood cannot clot normally,” according to the inquest. “Major haemorrhage is rare in snakebite, occurring only in three percent of brown snake envenomations.”
Inquest Was Completed Last Week
On Oct. 15, coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard came to the conclusion that at least three adults, including Kerrod Frahm, the victim’s father, had “received information that Tristian may have been bitten by a snake” after the young man fell off of a ride-in lawnmower on Nov. 20, 2021. According to the inquest, the adults “checked [Tristan] for bite marks, but in the absence of any obvious puncture marks, and on being told Tristian had earlier consumed alcohol, they attributed his non-specific symptoms to the effects of alcohol.” Tristan was then sent to bed, with his father telling him to “sleep it off.”
“Tristan’s Death May Have Been Prevented”
“Tristian’s death may have been prevented had he received early medical attention,” the inquest found. The report noted that Kerrad Frahm “was adamant” that Tristan had fallen ill because he’d reportedly drunk three cans of alcohol. No alcohol was detected in Tristan’s system the day after his death. However, because the young man “did not have any alcohol in his system when he passed, it is possible he could have entirely [metabolized] any alcohol consumed earlier.”
After heading to bed, Tristan reportedly experienced vomiting and a “pain in the belly” over the next 10 hours. “It can never be known to what extent Tristian was affected by alcohol, if at all, at that time. Toxicology performed on postmortem samples (femoral and subclavian blood, urine, stomach contents, and vitreous [humor]) received on 22 November 2021 detected no alcohol,” the inquest claimed.
Charges Against Tristan’s Father Dropped
Dr. Mark Little, an emergency physician, stated in the inquest that “the history of a fall from the ride-on mower, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain could all be consistent with either alcohol and/or head strike with a mild concussion.” He added that he understood “how the adults may have interpreted the suggestion Tristian had consumed alcohol as an explanation for not only his symptoms but also how he came off the mower and potentially banged his head.”
The inquest found that Tristan “more likely than not would have survived” if he’d received proper treatment in a timely manner. Kerrod was previously charged with manslaughter following Tristan’s death. However, that charge was dropped on April 12, 2024. “This tragedy shows how critical early medical treatment is in snakebite cases,” Kirkegaard told 7News.
