Kansas mother remembers daughter as outgoing and loving following suspicious death
By Mark Poulose
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LEAVENWORTH, Kansas (KCTV) — Leavenworth police are investigating the death of a 1-year-old girl. Police have labeled the death of Saraphina Avarose Sanchez as suspicious.
Officers tried to save her life at the Woodland Village Apartments on Wednesday. They found her not breathing with injuries all over her body. Police expect autopsy results to be ready on Saturday to determine how the toddler died.
“These calls are never easy,” said Major Dan Nicodemus, the Deputy Chief of Leavenworth Police. “A 1-year-old. This is a complete tragedy, and our hearts go out to the family. A child lost in our community way too soon. We’ll be putting our best effort into this, try to find out what happened, and then hold those people accountable.”
Thursday night, Saraphina’s mother, Liberti Figueroa, held a balloon release vigil to honor her daughter’s life.
“I picked up my baby. I picked up my baby and she was limp,” Figueroa said, as she talked about the pain of losing her daughter.
“That girl was my life,” she said. “My daughter is literally defenseless. She would not hurt anybody. She would not hurt anybody. She is a year. A year old. Didn’t even get a chance at life.”
Figueroa describes her daughter as a smart, outgoing, and loving child. After EMS rushed Saraphina to the hospital, they tried to save her life, but it was already too late.
“The hospital told me that she had to have been gone,” Figueroa said. “Her heart already stopped. Her heart didn’t want to start. I watched them for an hour and half and begged them not to stop, begged them not to stop, and they told me, ‘Sorry, but there is nothing we can do.’”
Thursday night, Figueroa was surrounded by family for a balloon release to honor the life of Saraphina. While Leavenworth PD calls the toddler’s death suspicious, no one is in custody.
“You need to be careful with your children and who you bring into your home because I learned the hard way. Now, I don’t have my daughter,” said Figueroa.
Figueroa has set up a GoFundMe to help her cover her daughter’s unexpected funeral expenses.
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