It was a story many wanted to believe: A terminally ill child gets his last wish to see Santa and dies in his arms.
But the Tennessee newspaper that ran it first now says it can no longer stand by the account.
The Knoxville News Sentinel story quickly went viral after it was published Sunday. USA Today republished the column, which was written by News Sentinel columnist Sam Venable. A host of national news outlets gave it additional coverage, including CNN, who spoke to Santa actor Eric Schmitt-Matzen about his interaction with the boy in his final moments.
“When you get to those pearly gates, you tell ’em you’re Santa’s No. 1 elf, and I know they’ll let you in,” Schmitt-Matzen recalled telling the boy.
But in a note published online Wednesday, Venable and News Sentinel editor Jack McElroy said they were unable to verify the account after it was published because Schmitt-Matzen refused to provide the identities of the child’s family or the nurse who purportedly called him to the hospital, which is not named in the story.
Too good to be true?
Not so fast. As it turns out, Eric Schmitt-Matzen, whose Santa story was originally shared by Knoxville News Sentinel columnist Sam Venable, says the account of a terminally ill five-year-old boy dying in his arms at a hospital is true.
WBIR 10 News out of Knoxville, Tennessee has independently verified several critical details of this story, but has agreed not to publish those for the sake of privacy. Schmitt-Matzen maintains his desire to protect all names involved.
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