Toddler found dead in Victoria hotel died of natural causes: BC Coroners Service

VICTORIA – British Columbia’s coroners’ service says a toddler found dead in a Victoria hotel room last month died of natural causes.

The service says 18-month-old Saam Zohrevand — also known as Saam Darya — developed both a lung infection and bacterial meningitis.

Victoria Police responded on July 18 to reports of a distraught woman screaming in a downtown hotel.

They arrived to discovered a child without vital signs.

Police said they had spoken twice with the mother the day before the incident after receiving calls from concerned citizens about the woman praying loudly in a Victoria mosque.

The province’s police watchdog is conducting a preliminary investigation to determine whether there is a connection between police actions and the child’s death.