"There are no words to
describe the tragic loss of our beloved Exodus," the family said in a
statement. "We ask you now to please respect our need at this very
difficult time for privacy to grieve and try to help each other heal."
Police said Exodus either slipped or put her head in the loop of a cord
hanging under the console. Her 7-year-old brother found her and told
their mother. She took Exodus off the cord, called 911 and tried to
revive her.
Responding officers and firefighters performed CPR as they took the girl
to the hospital.
Former heavyweight champion Tyson was in Las Vegas at the time of the
accident and flew Monday to Phoenix, where he was seen entering the
hospital.
The family's home is in a modest, quiet neighborhood. Neighbors say they
saw Tyson there from time to time and the children played outside
regularly.
Dinka Radic, who lives across the street, said Exodus would ask her if
she had any chocolate. When Radic gave her some, Exodus would hug the
woman's knees and "kiss, kiss, kiss."
"She'd say 'hi' to everybody. She was really friendly," said Abdul
Khalik, 53, who lives next door.
He said Exodus rode her bicycle in the neighborhood and often played
with his two children and his niece. He said his 14-year-old daughter
had cried all day after hearing of Exodus' death.
Ben Brodhurst, 20, who lives across the street, said Exodus' and her
family went trick-or-treating at his house the last couple of
Halloweens. She was "very lively, very enjoyable to be around," he said.
The neighborhood contrasts starkly with the lavish lifestyle Tyson had
through his tumultuous years of boxing, when he spent tens of millions
of dollars and says he had millions more stolen from him by unscrupulous
associates. During two years at the height of his career, he earned $140
million.
The death of his child in such an unusual accident adds an awful chapter
to the boxer's troubled life.
Tyson first began boxing in a facility for juvenile delinquents in
upstate New York at the age of 12. Eight years later, he became the
youngest heavyweight champion ever when he knocked out Trevor Berbick in
1986. But in 1990, he was defeated by James "Buster" Douglas in one of
the biggest upsets in boxing history, and soon after was convicted of
raping a beauty pageant contestant in Indianapolis.
Tyson, who still denies he raped the woman, served three years in
prison.
A few years later, he served three months in jail for beating up two men
after a minor car crash in suburban Washington.
As his career continued, so did his bizarre behavior. He bit off a piece
of Evander Holyfield's ear during a boxing match and once threatened to
eat the children of heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.
Although Tyson's children had lived in their unassuming neighborhood for
several years, he purchased a separate home in the tony Phoenix suburb
of Paradise Valley in 2005 for $2.1 million, selling it two years later
for $2.3 million.
In November 2007, Tyson spent 24 hours in Maricopa County's "Tent City"
jail after pleading guilty to one count of cocaine possession and one
misdemeanor count of driving under the influence. Police found the drug
when they pulled over Tyson's car after he left a Scottsdale night club.
According to police, Tyson said after his arrest that he bought cocaine
"whenever I can get my hands on it."
At Tyson's sentencing hearing, nearly a year after the arrest, his
attorney David Chesnoff said his client had taken 29 drug tests without
a relapse and was attending Alcoholic Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous
meetings.
Tyson had become an example of how one overcomes problems with drugs, a
violent past and poor upbringing, Chesnoff said.
"He's tried his hardest," his attorney said, "despite coming from almost
impossible beginnings." |