Fort Plain

The investigation into the December death of an 18-month-old Montgomery County boy who drank liquid nicotine is finally closed, with Fort Plain police deeming the incident accidental.

Eli James "EJ" Hotaling, who would have turned 2 on May 17, is the first child in the country to die from accidentally swallowing the toxic ingredient in electronic cigarettes, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A summary of the police report released by village police Friday provides further details of the events leading up to his death.

On Dec. 9, Eli was being watched by his mother, Brenda Hotaling, and John Kinard, who occasionally lived at the home, while his biological mother, Alyssa Hotaling, was Christmas shopping, according to the police summary.

The Garfield Street house was in disarray because Brenda Hotaling's sister Belinda was in the process of moving in.

Not knowing that Eli was going to be at the house, Belinda Hotaling left an uncapped bottle containing a nicotine solution on a low table in the dining room, police said. She was not home during the incident.

For a brief moment, Brenda Hotaling and Kinard had their backs turned to look through boxes for a remote control and SpongeBob SquarePants DVD, unaware of the open bottle, according to the summary.

When they looked back, Eli was holding the opaque brown bottle.

Kinard, immediately thinking Eli had drunk the solution, carried him across the street to the home of now-retired county Undersheriff Jeff Smith for help while Brenda Hotaling called 911, according to the report. Eli then began convulsing.

He later was pronounced dead at Little Falls Hospital.

According to the coroner's report, Eli died from nicotine ingestion, which caused cardiac arrhythmia.

Liquid nicotine is toxic in doses as small as a half-teaspoon, and even a small splash of the substance on children's skin can make them very ill, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The bottle Eli consumed contained a mixture of liquid nicotine and diluting liquids, which Belinda Hotaling had bought online and combined to use in her electronic cigarette, according to the police investigation.

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It was labelled Heartland Vapes, 100 milligrams, police said. The company, based out of Oklahoma City, is a distributor and manufacturer of eLiquids and ingredients. On the company's website, childproof caps for brown, glass bottles like the one described by police are available for sale separately from the ingredients and containers.

The cap from Belinda Hotaling's bottle was never found, police said. According to the family it was not childproof.

After Eli's death, Gov. Andrew Cuomo in December signed a bill requiring child-resistant packaging on all liquid nicotine sold in the state and banning the sale of the lethal substance to those under 18.

Federal legislation mandating childproof packaging was reintroduced on Capitol Hill earlier this year and in February was unanimously approved by the Senate Commerce Committee, one step closer to becoming law.

Now that the case is closed, Eli's family plans on filing a lawsuit against Heartland Vapes, Alyssa Hotaling said.

"No amount of money will bring my son back," she said. "I'm hoping it will save some other kid's life."

kclukey@timesunion.com • 518-454-5467 • @KClukey_TU