Twelve year old Sabrina Almendarez will be laid to rest on Thursday in Independence. The young athlete and star pitcher was pronounced dead early Friday morning at the Southern Regional Hospital, an hour after she was found in her room motionless, foaming from the mouth. The story is tragic and the family is grieving, searching for answers. There is one source of disquiet which emerged before the examination – the fact that just days before her death Sabrina was given a tetanus injection at her school as part of an ongoing Ministry of Health program. She complained of headaches daily following the shot, and then was dead, leaving the family speculating about a possible connection. A post-mortem examination was conducted on Tuesday by certified forensic pathologist Hugh Sanchez. The family’s hope was for a definitive cause of death, and perhaps some closure. This afternoon News Five spoke to Sabrina’s father Gregory, who told us that they haven’t gotten either.
Gregory Almendarez, Father of Sabrina
Gregory Almendarez
“More questions than ever…you know, we’re more confused. The result of the autopsy is not doing justice to what we have been expecting. And so it’s more questions than anything else you know. Basically he mentioned about a trauma on the upper part of the head here and that led to hemorrhaging of the brain in the back part of the brain. No hemorrhaging was shown in this part of the brain but the back. And also it showed that the organs on the left side they shut down pretty much. But no external trauma was shown…in the head for example right where she had the trauma they had to lift the scalp and it was on the underside of the scalp that they found the trauma…but on the external part no signs of bruising, no signs of a fractured skull or bruises…likewise on the left side these organs pretty much shut down…there was hemorrhaging as a matter of fact of these organs but nothing on the outside – no exterior trauma shown, no bruising, no cuts, nothing there. The entire body seemed clear of any external trauma. And so that is confusing to me. It doesn’t make any sense. How can you have internal trauma and no visible signs outside? It’s just not adding up, it’s not making any sense. And I told him that outright. It just doesn’t make any sense. People are coming up with different speculation out there, but people will talk and I don’t know how else to break it down for them. I did interviews with some of the students at the primary school this morning. I spoke to the coach. My sister has spoken to some of the teachers…her best friend. And none of them have indicated that my daughter expressed anything about anybody abusing her…worse the parents. We don’t whip our students, our children. I’m a teacher and you learn how to discipline your children by talking to them. I don’t lash the children…my wife doesn’t lash the children….we talk. We discipline by talking to them. So that is definitely something I am hoping would be dispelled from the thoughts of anybody if they are thinking in that line.”
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