Funeral arrangements set for three children found dead Sunday

PERRY, Fla. — Funeral services have been set for the three children who died Sunday after being found trapped in a freezer in Suwannee County.

Joe P. Burns Funeral Home in Perry is handling the arrangements for all three children, 6-year-old Dawlton Lee DelBridge and his 1-year-old sister Kayliegh Mae Meeks as well as 4-year-old Brook’Lyn Leigh Jackson.

Services for Dawlton and Kayleigh will be held Friday at 3 p.m. at San Pedro Baptist Church in Perry.

The family will hold a private ceremony will be held at a later date for Brook’Lyn.

According to the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office, if anyone wants to donate to the cost of the funeral services, they should contact Burns Funeral Home at 850-584-4149,  rather than Stephanie Jackson, the mother of Brook’Lyn, and Elaine Richardson, grandmother of Dawlton and Kayliegh, who were at the home at the time of the accident.

The investigation into the deaths of three children, who lived at a Suwannee County residence off 173rd Place, continues although investigators don’t suspect foul play in the deaths.

“It’s just really, really heartbreaking,” Sheriff Sam St. John said Monday. “I really believe it was an accident, just a really horrific, terrible accident.”

According to investigators, the three children were playing in the yard around 5 p.m. Sunday when, for unknown reasons, they climbed inside a nearby chest freezer after the mother of one of them went inside to use the restroom and got trapped inside and died.

When the woman returned outside 10-20 minutes later, she couldn’t find the children and then awoke the grandmother of the other two children.

They began searching the property and an adjacent vacant home before finding the children in the freezer, not breathing, about 20-30 minutes later, according to investigators.

The women began attempts to resuscitate the children while calling 911.

The children were transported to Shands Live Oak Regional Medical Center after first responders arrived but resuscitation efforts were not successful.

Authorities said the 5 cubic foot freezer, which was not plugged in, had a hinged hasp installed on the lid in order to be padlocked. They believe that when the lid closed, the hasp fell shut, trapping the children inside.

Investigators met with the State Attorney’s Office for the Third Judicial Circuit on Wednesday, but no decision was made on whether charges would be filed in the case.

St. John said the State Attorney’s office had requested additional information and clarification, leaving the investigation ongoing.

The Florida District Two Medical Examiners Office conducted an autopsy and determined Tuesday that all three children died from accidental asphyxiation and no signs of trauma were present.