Police Monday identified the 22-month-old St. Johnsbury toddler found dead Saturday morning at his home as Mason Keithan.
Mason is the son of Vincent Keithan and Alicia Mitchell, state police said.
While the final cause of death has not been released, police said a preliminary investigation showed no signs of physical trauma to the child. A final autopsy report will give the official cause and manner of death.
Department for Children and Families Commissioner Dave Yacovone on Monday would not say whether Mason had DCF ties.
“I’m prohibited by law from confirming or denying anyone’s involvement with DCF,” Yacovone said.
Vermont State Police received a call Saturday morning at 8:50 a.m. saying an ambulance had been sent to a home on Mountain View Drive for an unresponsive child, police said.
Medical workers pronounced Mason dead before police arrived, police said in a news release. State police are still investigating the incident.
When police arrived, the child was on the living room floor. The parents had likely moved him there to do rescue breathing, police said.
Mason’s parents said he had been asleep overnight, police said. The couple has other children but no one besides Mitchell, Keithan and Mason were home at the time, police said.
Mitchell’s Facebook page Monday showed photos of the family, including an April 19 post about taking Mason to get a haircut.
State law allows the DCF commissioner to publicly discuss information about a child death, or near death, that happened because of child abuse or neglect, unless the state’s attorney or attorney general who is investigating the case requests otherwise.
Because no one has made a determination about whether Mason’s death was the result of abuse or neglect, Yacovone said he cannot comment.
The toddler’s death comes after the deaths of two other children this year: 2-year-old Dezirae Sheldon of Poultney in February and 14-month-old Peighton Geraw of Winooski in April.
Police have ruled both of those cases homicides and both children had connections to DCF, which investigates cases of child abuse and neglect.
Dezirae’s stepfather is charged with her murder and Peighton’s mother with his. The deaths have prompted at least four investigations into DCF. The governor also has called for changes at DCF, including the hiring of more social workers.
