Heartbroken mother of twins, 4, who suffocated to death after falling asleep in their cedar toy chest in the night thanks strangers for raising $35,000 and says messages of support have ‘helped dull the pain’

The heartbroken mother of four-year-old twins who suffocated to death after falling asleep in their cedar toy box in the middle of the night said kind messages from strangers helped ‘ease the pain’ of them lose.

In a Facebook post, Sadie Myers said: “I want to thank EVERYONE for your kind words and for all the support and donations… Reading all your kind messages definitely helps ease the pain. “

Myers’ twins – Aurora and Kellan – were put to bed by their father Don Starr on August 25 but decided to snuggle up in the box used to store their stuffed animals.

They ran out of oxygen and suffocated and were eventually found dead, arms wrapped around each other, by their older brother who thought they were still sleeping at their home in Jacksonville, Florida.

More than $35,000 raised for devastated family through fundraising page created by Aurora and Kellan’s aunt, Myers’ sister Deanna.

On August 25, the twins snuggled into the box used to store their stuffed animals. They ran out of oxygen and suffocated and were eventually found dead.

More than $35,000 has been raised for the devastated family through a fundraising page set up by Aurora and Kellan’s aunt Deanna.

Deanna thanked those who supported the family on the GoFundMe page Friday and wrote: “I’m trying so hard to thank each of you individually and respond to all your lovely messages.”

The twins’ aunt also said she has been with the family every day since the tragedy and that the heartbroken parents have found much comfort in reading messages from strangers.

Myers has been posting photos of the twins since the tragedy. She also updated her profile picture with a photo of Aurora pushing Kellan while sitting in a stroller.

She also warned parents that toy boxes become “airtight” and “soundproof” once closed and urged others to “destroy them immediately”.

The twins’ aunt has been with the family every day since the tragedy and the heartbroken parents have found so much comfort reading messages from strangers.

The twins’ father, Don Starr, put them to bed on August 25, but the children decided to snuggle up in the box used to store their stuffed animals.

One of the older boys opened the trunk and found the twins, but he didn’t know they were dead. He said, “Mom! I found them! They are so stupid for sleeping in the toy box.

Myers and Starr also have two older boys, who opened the trunk and found the twins on the morning of August 25.

Myers spoke about the twins’ deaths on Facebook earlier this week.

She was working the night of the incident, so her husband Don put their four children to bed.

But the twins woke up early on Saturday and decided to play together using the wooden chest.

Their mother said they would wake up at odd hours and find them sleeping in different places in the morning with toys scattered around their shared bedroom.

“Friday night the weird place they decided to snuggle up and go back to sleep was in their cedar toy box that we use to store all of their stuffed animals,” she wrote.

The twins took out most of the stuffed animals and kept a few to provide a layer of cushioning, but fell asleep idly.

The mother woke up Saturday morning and panicked when she saw that the twins were not in bed and were not immediately visible.

The family ran around trying to find the twins before one of their older brothers opened the trunk and saw them, he didn’t know they were dead.

He said, “Mom! I found them! They are so stupid for sleeping in the toy box.

But Myers immediately realized they were dead. “I went to check and within seconds I knew something was wrong, but I also quickly realized it was already too late,” she said.

She assumes they wished each other good night before falling asleep. “Good night, Kell Kell,” Aurora said to her twin. While Kellan replied: “Night, night, sissy.” »

Myers said the older boys lived with family members.

The mother warned parents that the toy boxes became “airtight” and “soundproof” once closed and urged others to “destroy them immediately”.

The older boys stay with family members as the parents deal with the loss of the twins.

“They have been with family for a week because we don’t want to emotionally scar them by seeing us like this, and they need to be kept away from any triggers that could cause them to end up in the same state,” Myers wrote.

The nonprofit Kids in Danger revealed that at least 34 children have died in incidents involving toy boxes since 2014, according to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

More than 21,500 toy boxes have been recalled since 2005 due to hazards including strangulation, entrapment, injury and lead poisoning.