A brown snake

An 11-year-old boy bit by a snake in Australia died after his father said to "sleep it off," according to legal findings released in the death case.

Tristian Jaemes Frahm suffered "extensive internal bleeding due to brown snake envenomation," according to a Coroners Court of Queensland inquest document released on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

On Nov. 21, 2021, officials wrote, police found Tristian dead at a property in Murgon, a rural town in Queensland about 160 miles from the city of Brisbane.

In a 22-page report, Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard wrote Tristian’s father Kerrod Frahm, and two other unnamed adults received information Tristian may have been bitten by a snake after he had fallen off a "ride-on" lawn mower, according to the report.

The findings go onto show the trio checked Tristian for bite marks, but in the absence of "any obvious puncture marks, and on being told Tristian had earlier consumed alcohol, they attributed his non-specific symptoms to the effects of alcohol, so they did not seek medical attention for him," the report reads.

They then told Tristian to "sleep it off," according the document.

After the boy was sent to bed, he experienced symptoms including vomiting and stomach pain, the report continues.

What happened to Tristian Frahm?

Shortly after 9 a.m. local time on Nov. 22, 2021, police arrived at the property and found the boy dead, lying on his back under a sleeping bag on the ground outside a donga, a slang word for temporary or portable housing.

The coroner wrote she found two marks on Tristian’s right ankle consistent with a snakebite and vomit close to his body.

Forensic pathologist Christopher Day found no alcohol in the boy's system, according to the report.

Tristian's father was charged with manslaughter in connection to his son's death, but the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charge in April 2024, the document shows.

It was not immediately known why the charge was dismissed.

USA TODAY has reached out to Queensland Courts.

But according to the inquest, brown snake fangs "are not very large meaning their bite marks can be easily missed. They can leave fang or puncture marks, a normal looking scratch or no obvious mark at all."

"The circumstances in which he passed demonstrate the importance of taking even the possibility of snakebite seriously," the coroner wrote adding several tips for those who have been bit:

  • Call 911 or local law enforcement immediately after being bit
  • Apply pressure and a bandage to the suspected bite site
  • Stay still until help arrives

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Australian boy, 11, died from snake bite after father told him to 'sleep it off'

Reporting by Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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