FARMERSVILLE -- A single white casket graced the altar at Iglesia de Jesucristo church Monday as 170 mourners sang, shouted and prayed. In the casket rested the small bodies of brothers Angel Camarillo, 10, and Jorge Camarillo, 2.
Angel and Jorge were found dead in their bed on Nov. 8 by their father at the family's home in Visalia. Both were born with Glutaric Acidemia Type I, a rare birth defect that causes symptoms resembling cerebral palsy, leaving the boys unable to walk or talk.
Visalia police launched an investigation into the deaths because the two brothers died at the same time for unknown reasons. But that investigation was closed Friday when the Tulare County Coroner's Office reported to Visalia police that the boys died of pneumonia.
Police do not suspect foul play, said Visalia police Sgt. Steve Phillips.
How they got pneumonia was not stated by authorities.
Dr. Daniel Boken, an infectious disease specialist in Visalia, said he wasn't involved in the case but read news reports about it.
Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lung, he said, and many things can cause that, including aspirating vomit. Angelino Camarillo had told a Bee reporter that when he went to check on his sons and found them dead, it appeared they had vomited.
"It's still an unusual coincidence" for two people living together to die simultaneously of pneumonia, Boken said, although viral pneumonia could cause that to happen.
More likely, though, the children's genetic disorder and overall medical condition explains why both died at the same time, Boken said. "They had an unusual syndrome. Maybe they had some other illness that caused them to vomit. The stomach contents are very irritating to the lung," Boken said. "Maybe they were too ill" to fight off a lung inflammation, he said. "But without more information we'll have to leave it to the coroner."
A written autopsy report is still being prepared, the Coroner's Office said.
The mood inside the church on Farmersville Boulevard was both joyous and sad. Mourners squeezed into the pews of the small church.
Family friend Richardo Olea said most people at the church originally came from Oaxaca, Mexico. Many drove over from Santa Maria, where the family of Camarillo and his wife, Roberta Morales, used to live. The boys were born there.
An amplified band played a thumping backbeat as Christian music was sung in Spanish.
"Today more than ever, I would like to tell you I love you," the congregation sang, standing during the songs, many waving arms when the spirit called. Most women wore a white head scarf, which Olea said is standard at services.
"When we sing and play music, the world is less sad," pastor Felipe Santillan said. "God dwells in the praises of his people."
"This is a moment when our loved ones, the children, have gone to the Lord," Santillan said. "When someone dies, it causes sorrow because a loved one has passed on. But they went up to heaven with Jesus."
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