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Featured Image Credit: GoFundMe
Topics: News
Charisa Bossinakis
A family is heartbroken and searching for answers after their 14-year-old son mysteriously died in his sleep.
7News reported that William Pfeiffer, from Queenstown, Adelaide, went to bed on Saturday night (August 19) at his grandparents' house and was unable to wake up Sunday morning.
The Gleeson College student had no known existing medical conditions, no allergies and experienced no concerning symptoms that night he went to sleep.
His parents, Karen Lynch and Mike Shaw, are relying on an autopsy report to explain what happened to their son.
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A long-term friend of Ms Lynch, Nicole Banns, told The Advertiser that William had gone to sleep ‘happy and healthy’ during a sleepover with his siblings.
“I think they just realised that he was sleeping in bed and they checked on him and realised that something wasn’t right,” the 42-year-old said.
“They’re just really emotional and struggling to get through it.
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“[The family] is devastated as you can image, it’s just traumatic and it’s just so unfair.”
She continued: “It’s affected everyone, and I’ve seen her house and it’s full of flowers and full of food that people have been bringing.”
Gleeson College principal Joe Corbo said the school had been in mourning since the death of the ‘joyful, gregarious young man’.
He added that the school had placed a photo of William on the altar at the on-site chapel two days after everyone was informed about his death, and ‘18 students at lunch time were sat there reflecting’.
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Banns has also launched a GoFundMe for the late teenager, which has so far raised more than $42,000 (£21,398).
“No parent should ever have to endure the loss of a child. The grief alone is terrible, but the added stress of financial strain just adds to the pain. Karen will be unable to work for a while as she deals with her grief,” the description reads.
“I am reaching out to those who knew and loved William and his family in the hope that we can band together to ease the financial burden.”
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She said that all the donations received would go towards the family’s loss of income, funeral expenses and support services that they might require to help them cope with the loss.
If you would like to donate to William’s family, head here.