Mike Tyson
The frantic call came into 911. “My baby, she’s choked!”
Sol Xochitl, the ex-lover of boxing legend Mike Tyson, had just found their 4-year-old daughter hanging by the neck from an electrical wire inside her central Phoenix home. As Xochitl begged for emergency crews to hurry to the house, she could be heard counting out CPR pumps on little Exodus Tyson’s lifeless chest. “One, two, three, four…”
Her efforts ultimately could not revive the girl. Exodus was pronounced dead a little more than 24 hours later at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.
Now, the drama of those few panicked moments Monday has emerged through police statements and a transcript of the call Xochitl made to 911. They show the young mom remained focused on trying to save her daughter as the girl quickly expired.
“I don’t know how she kept it together like she did,” Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said on Thursday as he gave the most complete account yet of the freak accident. “Mom did an excellent job on the phone considering the dire circumstances she was in.”
Before a room of television cameras and reporters, Hill demonstrated how Exodus likely got caught up in the electrical wire, which hung from a treadmill inside her family’s house near 7th Avenue and Bethany Home Road.
The 4-year-old likely pulled down the loose wire from underneath the console of the treadmill, creating a sort of U-shape with the slack. Perhaps out of curiosity, the girl put her head through the makeshift noose.
“Judging by the way she was found and the description from mom and the family, that’s probably what happened,” Hill said.
Fire officials and a safety specialist joined Hill at the news conference to warn parents about similar dangers lurking throughout the home. Toys, computer cords and even neck ties can become problems, they said.
Tracey Fejt, a nurse at Banner Health’s Cardon Children’s Medical Center, said once children get into those situations, they often panic, causing them to pass out more quickly. In Exodus’ case, it likely only took seven to 14 seconds for her to lose consciousness, Fejt said.
“They get their head in, but they just don’t understand how to get their head out,” she said.
On Friday, police also released a transcript of the 911 call Xochitl made after discovering her daughter. In graphic detail, it reveals the control amid chaos she exhibited during those moments.
“My baby choked from the treadmill thing!” she shouted into the phone. “Please hurry up.”
As paramedics rushed to the scene, the operator told her to perform CPR on Exodus, offering to walk her through the process. “I know how to do it,” Xochitl said. She laid the girl flat on her back and began pumping her chest to try to revive her.
Moments later, emergency crews arrived and took over. They rushed the girl to the nearest emergency room.
The girl’s father, former boxer Mike Tyson, flew into town later that day and stayed by her side until she was pronounced dead the next day.