An eight-year-old girl died after after the child allegedly took part in an online deodorant challenge. Sarah Raissa was found laying unconscious, with a phone and a spray deodorant – on the sofa by her horrified grandfather.
The girl was found “with purple fingers and lips”, on April 10, and she was rushed from the family home in the outskirts of Brasilia, Brazil to hospital in a desperate attempt to save her life but Sarah was pronounced dead at Ceilândia Regional Hospital three days later. Police have launched an investigation into her tragic death and revealed the pillow she was found on was soaked with the product.
Sarah’s father, Cassio Maurílio, claimed a video encouraging people to do the dangerous trend – which has seen people spray antiperspirant on their bare skin for as long as they can. This bizarre challenge has been known to leave people with severe burns and Sarah is thought to have died after breathing in the spray.
Her heartbroken mother, Maria Fabiana, said: “I left her all ready for school and went to work. The last memory I have of her was in good health.” Maria added: “I have another daughter who is 13 years old and she has always been very close to Sarah, always just the two of them, she is very shaken. So, I have to stay strong to help her, even though I am dying, along with Sarah.”
Police seized the phone Sarah was using as they said their objective was to discover who created and shared the apparent video the eight-year-old saw, according to Globo. Local cops said if somebody was found guilty they could be charged with double-qualified homicide, which could land someone up to 30 years in prison.
Her father questioned the lack of filters on social media sites to protect children from potentially dangerous online trends. Cassio said: “These platforms, which are there, full of children watching, full of life to live, have no filter. Why are there no filters for children’s videos?”
Sarah was buried on Monday and her mum sent a strong warning to parents with young kids, saying: “Watch your children. The internet killed my daughter.”
Students and teachers at Sarah’s school paid tribute to the tragic eight-year-old and closed for a day to mourn her death. One of her teacher’s, Izabella Nogueira, praised Sarah as a “memorable student”.
She said: “A very affectionate, very calm girl, who captivated everyone every day. We taught them to dream, to spread their wings. And now we have to hand it over to God.”
An autopsy report with Sarah’s cause of death has been completed but it is being processed by the police.
This horrifying trend has also had victims in the UK as a dad shared a desperate warning after his teenage daughter died. Paul Green, from Derby, said his daughter Giorgia, 14, died after accidentally inhaling her favourite deodorant.
The apparent new craze – dubbed “chroming” – sees young people inhale fumes from a toxic source, like an aerosol deodorant, and share the results on social media.
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