University of Utah's Viliseni Fauonuku is photographed on Wednesday, September 12, 2012.
Laura Seitz, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — The burly teenager sprinted through the house, frantically searching for the little boy who was just learning to talk.
He made his way to a remote bedroom and called the child's name before he even reached the room.
The mattress on the floor stopped him in the doorway. Something wasn't right.
"That wasn't on the floor before," the 19-year-old recalled. "I lifted up the mattress and he was just lying there."
Viliseni "Seni" Fauonuku scooped up the toddler and carried him to living room where the rest of the family had gathered.
"My mom started performing CPR," Fauonuku said softly. "Nothing happened."
The loving, little 18-month-old boy born to his older sister and named after him had suffocated under that mattress. And while it was clearly a tragic accident, 17-year-old Fauonuku blamed himself.
"He was a funny little guy," he said smiling, tears threatening to fall from his deep brown eyes. "He liked to go off by himself, watch the other kids play. I was always with him. He was one of my favorites."
Then a junior at Bingham High, Fauonuku stood helplessly watching his mother try to save her grandson, his sister heartbroken and frantic, and he crashed into such grief that he didn't think he'd survive.
"That's the worst thing I've ever been through in my whole life," he said, apologizing for stopping to choke back tears. "It's something I'd never wish up on anybody else, to ever have to witness that or go through that. Mentally and spiritually, it shut me down."
Fauonuku's grief sent him into a spiral that nearly cost him everything he'd worked for as a top high school football recruit. In fact, in the dark days that followed his nephew's tragic death, Fauonuku made decisions that would make him the poster boy for a Sports Illustrated article on how athletic programs shield criminals.
But those who knew him best said reporters didn't know the whole story. Instead of a hardened criminal who was protected from the full weight of the law because he was talented, they saw a heartbroken kid who was so devastated by a little boy's death that he prayed God might take him instead.
"He was not the same kid," said Bingham High head football coach Dave Peck. "This was not the same person that we'd grown to love. He'd basically given up on life."
18 Sep, 2012
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Source: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765604862/Utah-football-Ute-player-makes-most-of-his-second-chance-after-tragedy-terrible-mistake.html
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