CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The grandmother of two Bradley County boys who died mysteriously last week notes that their older brother also died tragically.
Travis Hyatt Bates perished in a Cleveland fire in 2007 when he was 3 years old, according to Linda Bates, the paternal grandmother to River Bates, 3, and Leland Bates, 5.
Travis’ death is not part of the current investigation regarding River and Leland’s deaths, said Bob Gault, spokesman for the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation into their deaths is still open, he said.
The mother of all three boys, Tasha Moses, told the family that the two young boys were playing outside on a Slip’n Slide water toy last week when the incident happened and that she had only left them alone for 45 minutes, Linda Bates said.
The grandmother said she regrets not being able to do more for her grandsons, saying that she had told Moses to contact her anytime she needed help taking care of the boys.