

Chris Herhalt, CP24.com





Ottawa radio newsreader Lauren Davis, daughter of Toronto radio personality Erin Davis died suddenly in her sleep overnight Sunday at the age of 24.

“Lauren went to sleep on Sunday night – her first Mother's Day – and did not wake up to her baby's cries and husband's nudges on Monday,” Lauren’s mother Erin wrote on her blog.

Lauren was a journalist and newsreader with CFRA News in Ottawa. She gave birth to a boy named Colin seven months ago and was on maternity leave at the time of her death. Erin said family members lovingly call the baby boy “Co-Co.”

Her husband, Phil Shirakawa, works as a producer at the station. Erin said the family is struggling to understand how a “healthy, happy, beautiful young mother” could die so suddenly, leaving a child without a mom.

“The world will keep turning – a 7-month-old baby will grow surrounded by limitless love and support - and we will search forever to find answers to something that is so unspeakably wrong that none will ever suffice,” Erin wrote.

Emergency services got a call to Lauren’s home at about 4:30 a.m. Monday morning, Ottawa police Const. Marc Soucy said. A cause of death has not yet been determined.

Lauren revealed she was pregnant during a segment on her mom’s CHFI morning show last year.

In a radio story broadcast on Friday, Erin and Lauren spoke about Mother’s Day and the changes that come with becoming a mom.

“Colin has helped me realize that in order to be the best mother and wife I can be, I need to take control of my health,” Lauren said in the piece.

“(Colin) needs me to be around for a long time and I don’t plan on letting him down. I guess you could say he’s given me a new lease on life.”

Erin is a show host with Toronto radio station CHFI. She and several on-air colleagues began broadcasting live from Jamaica this week, but have since returned to Canada.

“Thank you to my extended CHFI family for the outpouring of love and support. I am overwhelmed by your heartfelt letters and messages to my family and me at this very difficult time in our lives,” Erin wrote in a message to supporters and well-wishers Tuesday morning.

CFRA News is owned by Bell Media, parent company of CP24.