Octopus removed from toddler’s throat; man arrested

The boy, who is in serious condition, was not breathing when he arrived at the hospital; doctors are monitoring his condition to see if he suffered brain damage

April 07, 2016 10:12 AM

The Wichita Eagle

WICHITA, Kan. — A 36-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of child abuse after Wichita doctors found a small octopus stuck in the throat of his girlfriend’s young son late Tuesday night.

A 21-year-old woman returned home from work at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday to find her boyfriend performing CPR on her 2-year-old son at their home, Wichita police Lt. James Espinoza said.

The couple took the boy to the hospital, where doctors found and extricated the octopus from his throat. Doctors also noticed injuries on the boy’s face, Espinoza said.

Explanations for how the bruises occurred and how the octopus became lodged in the boy’s throat were not consistent with the injuries, Espinoza said, so the boyfriend was taken to City Hall for questioning and later booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on suspicion of child abuse.

The boy was not breathing when he arrived at the hospital, Espinoza said, but he has been upgraded to serious condition. Doctors are monitoring the boy’s condition to see whether oxygen deprivation has caused brain damage.

The dead octopus, which had a head about 2 inches in diameter, was likely going to be cut up as sushi, Espinoza said.