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The Great Santa Hoax? Story Of Terminally Ill Boy Dying In Santa’s Arms Might Be Made Up [Video]

By Patricia Ramirez

From the archive: published Dec 15, 2016, 9 years ago. Details may have changed since.

Earlier this week, the heart-wrenching story of a terminally ill 5-year-old dying in the arms of a hospital Santa went viral, but now the world is learning that the whole thing may have been a hoax. According to the story, Santa (real name Eric Schmitt-Matzen) came running to a local, unnamed hospital in Tennessee at the request of terminally ill 5-year-old whose final wish was to see him.

In the story, which was first published by a Tennessee newspaper and then picked up by media outlets around the country, the terminally ill little boy’s name was withheld.

According to the Santa, he got a call from a nurse at the hospital, and when he got there, he was given a toy to gift the terminally ill child. That’s when things turned utterly tragic for everyone involved, at least according to Schmitt-Matzen.

“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 going to miss Christmas? There’s no way you can miss Christmas! You’re my No. 1 elf!’

He looked up and said, ‘I am?’ I said ‘Sure.'”

In recalling the tearjerking story to the media, a story which many are now calling a hoax, Santa said the terminally ill boy knew that he was going to die soon. So the hospital Santa tried to reassure the boy, reports Fox News, calling the little guy “Santa’s No. 1 elf” and telling him to pass the word to the folks at the Pearly Gates so they’d let him right in.

Then, according to the original story of Santa and the terminally ill 5-year-old, the end came quickly and devastatingly for everyone the room.

“He kind of sat up, and gave me a big hug and asked one more question: ‘Santa can you help me?’ 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.”

According to Schmitt-Matzen, when the ordeal was all over, he “ran bawling by the nurse’s station.”

All in all, the possible Santa hoax involving a dying wish, a terminally ill 5-year-old, and “Santa’s No. 1 elf” was like something out of a cable TV Christmas movie. Unfortunately, it’s now looking more and more like the unbelievably sad story of Santa and the terminally ill boy is truly unbelievable — as in a complete hoax.

The News Sentinel originally published the account of Santa and the dying boy, a tale that reportedly came straight from the mouth of Eric Schmitt-Matzen. Now, the outlet says that it can’t verify the truth of the Christmastime tragedy yarn spun by the 60-year-old volunteer Santa (a mechanical engineer in real life). What’s more, the newspaper says that nobody else can verify that Santa’s sad story ever happened.

https://twitter.com/LeighAnnMac/status/809168537877118977

Reportedly, following the viral success of the sad story of Santa and the terminally ill boy, it is likely the entire yarn was a hoax. The News Sentinel claims that it has tried to “independently verify” the veracity of the Santa story, but to no avail.

“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.”

While the paper can’t definitively call the woeful tale of Santa and the terminally ill 5-year-old a hoax, the media outlet that spawned the sensationally viral story also can’t confirm whether it’s true.

However, despite the fact that the News Sentinel has been unable to verify the story of Santa and the terminally ill boy, another local news outlet claims that it has done so and that they have vetted that the tale told by Schmitt-Matzen is a real-life tragedy. According to Knoxville’s WBIR, it has “independently verified several critical details of this story, but has agreed not to publish those for the sake of privacy.”

The news outlet further claims to have spoken to Mrs. Claus (the wife of Santa Schmitt-Matzen) and she says that her husband is telling the truth.

“I know how he reacted that next morning, and this is something that weighed so heavy on him. I just know that he just needed time by himself to accept what happened because he obviously wasn’t prepared for a child to die in his arms.”

However, when recalling the event to WBIR, Sharon Schmitt-Matzen did differ from her husband on one critical detail of the story. According to Sharon, the little boy died in mid-October. The Santa in question claimed that his encounter with the terminally ill boy happened “about six weeks ago.”

Several of the Santa volunteer’s close friends have also come forward to support his version of events. Still, Eric admits that his tale, one that many now believe to be a hoax, would be more believable if either the nurse who called him to the hospital on that fateful day or the terminally ill boy’s family would speak out in his defense. It may not be possible for the nurse to do so and keep their job due to patient confidentiality laws.

As for the family of the terminally ill boy who Santa claims died in his arms, Schmitt-Matzen is actually advising them to keep to the shadows, especially after the negative fall-out he has dealt with regarding his heartbreaking story.

“If the family wants to come out and say who they were, I’ll stand beside them. I’ll support them in any way I can, but the way my life’s been upset in the last three days, four days, don’t do it. You have enough problems. Your family will be tore apart more than it is now. But, from a selfish point of view, they’d be coming to my rescue. But who needs rescue here? Me or them?”

What to you think? Do you think that Eric told the media the whole truth, or do you think that the story of the terminally ill boy dying in Santa’s arms could be nothing more than a holiday hoax?

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