As Boy Was Dying From Snake Bite, Dad Thought He Was Drunk

The 2021 death of an 11-year-old boy from a brown snake bite may have been prevented if he had received medical attention sooner, an inquest in Queensland, Australia, has concluded. The inquest revealed that Tristian James Frahm's father and two other adults mistakenly believed the boy's symptoms were due to drinking alcohol, not a snakebite, and sent him to bed to "sleep it off" rather than seeking help, People reports. The boy was found dead in the yard the following morning. Tristian's father was initially charged with manslaughter, but the charge was dropped in April 2024.

Tristian had fallen off a ride-on mower the day before his death in November 2021 and complained of a stomachache, vomiting, and fatigue over the following 10 hours. Despite receiving information that the boy may have been bitten by a snake after his fall, all three adults found no obvious bite marks and attributed his symptoms to alcohol consumption, based on his father's insistence that the boy had "snuck" three cans of bourbon, ABC.net reports. Toxicology tests later found no alcohol in Tristian's system, though the inquest acknowledges the boy could possibly have metabolized the alcohol earlier.

The coroner, Ainslie Kirkegaard, noted that brown snake venom can cause severe internal bleeding, though major hemorrhage is rare. The findings emphasized that Tristian "would more likely than not have survived" if he had been treated, as medical personnel likely would have identified the bite and administered the necessary care. After his death, authorities discovered two marks on his ankle consistent with a snakebite.