An Apple Valley resident, Amanda Sorensen, 21, was arrested on Monday, January 7, 2013 for suspicion of child abuse resulting in death. Sorensen was allegedly feeding her boyfriend’s two-year-old daughter chili powder as a form of punishment and as a result the toddler suffered a fatal seizure. Police received a call from the family home on Sunday, January 6th and after finding the child they rushed her to the hospital where they declared her dead. KTLA has revealed that an autopsy will be done on the toddler’s body to determine the cause of death in this ongoing investigation.
It has been proven however that chili powder’s main ingredient Capsaicin can be fatal by swelling the airwaves of infants. Capsaicin when inhaled can cause coughing, nausea and lack of coordination in the upper body and bronchoconstriction. If someone overdoses on chili powder the immediate symptoms include: difficulty breathing, convulsions, and a change in skin color. What is of interest is the fact that several neighbors told NBC San Diego that they never noticed anything out of the ordinary in the Sorensen house. Especially since they constantly saw children from toddlers to teenagers entering and leaving the home. “I would give them the benefit of the doubt,” neighbor Patricia Amado said. “I can’t imagine a parent purposely doing something like that to a young child.”
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