The story of a 5-year-old boy dying in the arms of Santa Claus in a Tennessee hospital may have broken millions of hearts this week — but was it all made up? The newspaper that first reported the story is now backing off the account. The Knoxville News Sentinel, which first reported the story, shared a statement on Wednesday with the headline: “Story of Santa Claus with dying child can’t be verified.” In its original story, which was published on December 11, Eric Schmitt-Matzen had described being called to the hospital room of a little boy suffering from cancer. According to Schmitt-Matzen, the child passed away in his arms. The heart-wrenching story went viral after it was published. It was picked up by news outlets across the country, even leaving some anchors in tears. But now, the headlines are going in a different direction. Doubts have been cast on Schmitt-Matzen’s account after he said he will not reveal the name of the boy or the hospital. Every hospital in the Knoxville region has said no 5-year-old patients passed away at the time Schmitt-Matzen claimed it happened, and there are no local obituaries that match his account. In its statement on Wednesday, the News Sentinel said it was “no longer standing by the veracity of Schmitt-Matzen’s account.”
Bad Santa: Story of Boy Dying in Arms of ‘Santa Claus’ Called Into Question
