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Viral Account Of Santa Granting Dying Child’s Last Wish Cannot Be Verified — Was The Story Made Up?

By Lindsay McCane
Published on: 13:33 PST, Dec 14, 2016

On Sunday, a story about a professional Santa Claus visiting a dying 5-year-old boy went viral, touching the hearts of millions of people all over the world. However, the newspaper that first reported the account now says they cannot verify the accuracy of the story, making those same people question whether the whole thing was made up.

Knoxville News Sentinel was first notified indirectly about the heartbreaking story through a known source. The newspaper then reached out to 60-year-old Eric Schmitt-Matzen, who works as a professional Santa Claus at more than 80 gigs each year. While speaking to the publication, Eric recalled one encounter with a child that will haunt him for the rest of his life — the day he granted a little boy’s Christmas wish before he died in his arms.

“The telephone rang. It was a nurse I know who works at the hospital. She said there was a very sick 5-year-old boy who wanted to see Santa Claus,” Schmitt-Matzen had said. “I told her, ‘OK, just let me change into my outfit.’ She said, ‘There isn’t time for that. Your Santa suspenders are good enough. Come right now.'”

Eric said he arrived at the hospital within 15 minutes and made his way into the boy’s room.

“When I walked in, he was laying there, so weak it looked like he was ready to fall asleep. I sat down on his bed and asked, ‘Say, what’s this I hear about you’re gonna miss Christmas? There’s no way you can miss Christmas! Why, you’re my Number One elf!” Schmitt-Matzen said. “He looked up and said, ‘I am?’ I said, ‘Sure!'”

Schmitt-Matzen then reportedly gave the sick child a Christmas present, which he struggled to open. What happened next was heart-wrenching.

“Santa, can you help me?” Eric recalled him asking. “I wrapped my arms around him. Before I could say anything, he died right there. I let him stay, just kept hugging and holding on to him.”

Schmitt-Matzen said he cried all the way home from the hospital, and added that the experience is one he would never forget.

“My wife and I were scheduled to visit our grandchildren in Nashville the next day, but I told her to go by herself,” he said. “I was a basket case for three days. It took me a week or two to stop thinking about it all the time. Actually, I thought I might crack up and never be able to play the part again.”

As touching as it sounds, the newspaper has not been able to verify his account. Knoxville News Sentinel issued a statement regarding the story on Wednesday, December 14.

“Since publication, the News Sentinel has done additional investigation in an attempt to independently verify Schmitt-Matzen’s account. This has proven unsuccessful. Although facts about his background have checked out, his story of bringing a gift to a dying child remains unverified. The News Sentinel cannot establish that Schmitt-Matzen’s account is inaccurate, but more importantly, ongoing reporting cannot establish that it is accurate.

“Therefore, because the story does not meet the newspaper’s standards of verification, we are no longer standing by the veracity of Schmitt-Matzen’s account.”

Do you think the Santa story is true? Leave your comments below.

[Featured Image by Guschenkova/Shutterstock]

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