Belmont toddler’s death under investigation By BOB MARTIN, AMANDA NEWMAN and RICH PIATT bmartin@citizen anewman@citizen rpiatt@citizen BELMONT — A toddler who fell down a flight of stairs at a Belmont apartment on Wednesday was pronounced dead at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Saturday morning, according to a family member. Havana O’Flaherty, 2, was pronounced dead at 10:05 a.m. on Saturday after attempts to treat a head injury failed, and she was taken off life support. She reportedly suffered major injuries to her brain after she fell while she was allegedly in the care of the boyfriend of her mother, Crystal Case. The Belmont community has shown its support, as well as concern surrounding the child’s injury that led to her death. There was a candlelight vigil in downtown Belmont Friday night, at which Reverend James F. Smith gave a prayer. On Sunday, during the regular service at the First Baptist Church of Belmont, Smith said that the service was adjusted to include prayers for O’Flaherty. He explained that hymns were chosen that centered around the situation with a child dying. Smith added that he was unsure when or where there would be services for O’Flaherty, and the family member said that details are still being worked out. Smith explained that, while he does not know the family well, he knows many who do, and expressed that it has been a very trying time for all involved. He explained that over the summer O’Flaherty attended the Heavenly Sonshine Preschool, but when the incident occurred she was not attending the school. On Saturday, Oct. 12, there will be a fundraiser devoted to helping out Havana’s family financially. It will take place at the Laconia VFW from 6 to 11 p.m., and will include a spaghetti dinner, music and a silent auction aimed at bringing in funds to offset hospital bills, funeral services and other expenses. A website has also been set up for people to donate, and as of last night there were 110 donors giving $4,215 to the cause.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Oct 2013 03:18:12 +0000