Child Who Drank Boiling Water From Straw Dies Months Later

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BOYNTON BEACH (CBSMiami) -- The death of an 8-year-old girl months after drinking boiling water from a straw is under investigation.

CBS12 reports the family of the girl identified her as Ki'ari Pope. She died at the end of July but the cause is still unkown, according to the Department of Children and Families.

The department says the girl told her mother she was having trouble breathing then fell unconscious and died 40 minutes later at the hospital.

The family has dealt with DCF in the past.

Back in March, DCF found Ki'ari had burns to her mouth and throat after her cousin dared her to drink boiling water from a straw.

A DCF investigation in May also found the girl was not properly supervised. A month later, authorities received another report but the details were redacted.

DCF Secretary Mike Carroll released a statement on the child's death, saying in part, "We have opened a child death investigation to examine the circumstances surrounding her death and will deploy a Critical Incident Rapid Response Team to review all interactions this family has had with Florida's child welfare system."

According to the department, they received multiple reports involving the girl between 2009 and 2017 - five of them stemming from domestic violence allegations between the girl's mother and her partner.

Boynton Beach Police say the girls death, at this point, "does not appear to be anything other a medical issue as far as our involvement is concerned."

But their involvement is pretty limited, according to a statement released on the matter.

"This injury stems from an incident occurred in another jurisdiction. We are currently trying to ascertain whether or not they have criminal charges in their case."

If there are criminal charges in the case, the child's injuries and death would be investigated by Boynton Beach Police.

"Our reports are still in progress and will be made available to you once the Medical Examiner's Office has concluded their investigation into the cause of death," according to the Boynton Beach Police statement.