A New Zealand-born influencer has announced her newborn son tragically died on Monday at just six weeks old.
Kimberley Summer Hartley, a Gold Coast-based content creator and sex worker who goes by the name Veruca Salt on social media, shared the news in a heartbreaking message to her Instagram Story on Tuesday.
"It is with a heavy heart that I'm writing this. My baby died in his sleep on Monday morning," the 25-year-old wrote.
"I don't know what happened, he is having an autopsy this week but it is unlikely that I'll ever have an answer.
"I'm just saying this because people are still commenting on my TikToks saying how happy I look with him and 'just wait for the toddler stage' and stuff, and I really can't take it anymore. I'm really sorry."
Hartley gave birth to her son Cash Harrison Stirling on December 19, 2023.
Queensland Police confirmed to local media they were called to a unit in Southport, a coastal suburb of the Gold Coast, at 6:13am on Monday, February 5. The death is not being treated as suspicious.
"It's still under investigation and we're awaiting autopsy results," Gold Coast police superintendent Craig Hanlon said, as reported by news.com.au. "It's obviously a tragic situation and our hearts go out to the mother and the family."
About a week ago Hartley had shared to her TikTok that Cash had been suffering from constipation.
Hartley was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia at three years old and is currently residing in Queensland. She documented her return to Aotearoa during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
