Death of 12-year-old boy at 'troubled teen' wilderness camp in NC ruled a homicide after he was sealed in an airless 'bivy'

A coroner has determined that the death of a 12-year-old boy at a wilderness camp for troubled youth near Lake Toxaway, North Carolina was a homicide. Dr. Mark Giffen of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that Clark Harman, who suffered from ADHD, migraines, and social difficulties, died by "asphyxia due to smothering" less than 24 hours into his stay at Trails Carolina.

Giffen explained that on the night of February 3, Harman had been placed in a "small camping enclosure" known as a bivy on his first night at the camp, and that he likely suffocated while inside due to the fact that the openings were sealed all the way, preventing air from entering.

According to the report, which was obtained by the Daily Mail, Harman fell asleep "without incident" in the bivy, but woke up around 11 pm and was removed. A short while later, he was placed back in the bivy and told to go back to sleep. The internal mesh door typically used to secure the bivy Harman was placed in had a rip in it, so the weather-resistant outer door was used instead. As Giffen noted, "a basic web search" would have revealed that the outer door "should not be fully secured as it may lead to condensation and breathing restriction."

A counselor spotted him moving around in the early hours of the morning, however, he was not visible through the opaque outer door. In the morning, counselors discovered Harman with his head where his feet should be, and vice versa. First responders were called, but it was too late. 

"He was placed in this compromised sleeping area by other(s) and did not have the ability to reasonably remove himself from the situation with the alarm securing the opening," Giffen wrote. "The standard protocol was deviated from due to using a damaged bivy and ... the counselors could not check on him ... preventing them from potentially noting the problem and delivering aid before he died. With this combination of factors, the death is best certified as homicide."

As the Daily Mail reports, while charges are still pending, the camp did have its license revoked in May and is facing a slew of lawsuits over other allegations of abuse and neglectful behavior.