Arizona Mother Kills Her 5-Year-Old Son Before Committing Suicide In Children’s Hospital Room

A mother was found dead alongside her 5-year-old son inside of Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa, Arizona, after an apparent murder-suicide. The mother, Lola Griffith, is believed to have murdered her son before shooting herself. Hospital staff found the pair at 2:00 a.m. during a regular bed check. The employees noted that both Lola and her son, Helious Griffith, were in the room and fine at midnight just two hours before the horrifying discovery.

The Daily Mail reports that 27-year-old Lola Griffith was found with a fatal gunshot wound next to her deceased 5-year-old son Helious in a private room at the Cardon Chidren’s Medical Center. The police say that the child had been hospitalized for the past week but did not disclose the reason for needing medical care. However, in a post to the crowdfunding website YouCaring, Lola says that she was struggling after her one vehicle broke down. She notes that she is a single mother to a special needs little boy. Lola said that her son, who would have turned six on Christmas Eve, suffered from Cerebral Palsy and Dystonia. She claims he had severe separation anxiety and seemed overwhelmed with all the care he required.

“My son’s name is Helious (like the Greek Sun God Helios) and he has Cerebral Palsy with Dystonia, he has sensitivities to audio, odor, and touch. He also suffers from separation anxiety when I’m out of his line of sight where he cries and can not self calm.”

Lola went on to note that Helious was scared of doctors and the hospital. She claims he was “traumatized” by doctors which resulted in a strong fear of everything medical related even just the smell of rubbing alcohol. The YouCaring campaign only raised $5 before the deaths.

Though it is clear that the little boy suffered from a number of medical conditions, it is not clear at this time exactly why the boy had been hospitalized over the last week. The hospital says they have a policy to do a “bed check” every two hours in the hospital. They note that when they checked on Lola and Helious at midnight they were both fine. However, when a nurse returned at 2:00 a.m. to do a check, the pair were dead. No one in the hospital claims to have heard a gunshot despite the fact that Lola had a fatal gunshot wound.

When the staff member came upon the horrifying scene, the hospital’s trauma department was called to the private room. Unfortunately it was too late and the pair were declared dead. Police were also called to the scene to investigate and concluded that the deaths were a murder-suicide. No other individuals had entered the room between midnight and 2:00 a.m.

Mesa PD identify mother and 5YO son in hospital murder suicide as 27YO Lola “Tammy” Griffith & Helious. #12news pic.twitter.com/Ee2WFCQlLY

— Monique Griego (@MGriego12news) November 7, 2015

The Arizona Department of Child Safety confirmed that they had an open case involving the child and his mother but did not elaborate. It was noted that Lola was still the legal guardian of the child at the time of the murder and suicide. Meanwhile, the hospital is remaining rather quiet about the incident noting that due to the nature of the tragedy they could not comment.

“Investigators from the Mesa Police Department have been at Cardon Children’s Medical Center looking into what they’re calling an apparent murder/suicide that occurred this morning in one of our patient rooms. Because of the nature of the investigation, we can’t comment on the situation or of those involved.”

Though the hospital is not commenting on the specifics of the case, they did note that no other patients or staff members were in danger and that they will “remain vigil” about safety on the premises.

[Photo by Theo Heimann/ Getty Images]