Current:Home > InvestDancer Órla Baxendale’s Final Moments Revealed Before Eating Cookie That Killed Her -Wealth Navigators Hub
Dancer Órla Baxendale’s Final Moments Revealed Before Eating Cookie That Killed Her
View
Date:2025-04-18 21:03:51
New details are emerging about Órla Baxendale's final moments.
The New York dancer, who died Jan. 11 at age 25, took precautions to prevent her death, according to her family attorney.
At a social gathering earlier this month, Baxendale went into anaphylactic shock due to a severe allergic reaction from eating a cookie that contained peanuts—although the label did not disclose the ingredient, her lawyer said.
"Because Orla was so vigilant and so careful with everything she touched, she actually Googled 'soy nut,' which is on the package," her attorney Marijo Adimey told ABC News, "wanting to make sure that a soy nut wasn't a nut." (Soy nuts are soybeans, not tree nuts.)
After she took a bite of Stew Leonard's Vanilla Florentine Cookie, Baxendale began having a reaction. Her friends rushed her to the hospital and used her EpiPen, per the outlet, but she sadly didn't make it.
Stew Leonard Jr.—the CEO of the supermarket chain that sold the desserts—said they were not informed that the supplier had changed the recipe from soy nuts to peanuts.
In response, the manufacturer Cookies United publicly shared a note the company allegedly sent out months prior, informing vendors they were adding peanuts as an ingredient in the holiday cookies.
"Unfortunately, considering the tragedy of these circumstances, we need to point out that Stew Leonard's was notified by Cookies United in July of 2023 that this product now contains peanuts and all products shipped to them have been labeled accordingly," Cookies United said in a Jan. 23 press release. "This product is sold under the Stew Leonard's brand and repackaged at their facilities. The incorrect label was created by, and applied to, their product by Stew Leonard's."
The supermarket recalled mislabeled cookies that had been sold from Nov. 6 to Dec. 31 at their stores in Danbury and Newington, Conn.
Baxendale's family has not spoken out about the incident, but have been communicating their grief through their lawyer.
"They're too distraught to speak," Adimey added. "They want this story out so it doesn't happen again."
Baxendale, a U.K. native, is being remembered by the dance community for her lively personality and talent for performing.
"For someone to leave us so young and so soon at the height of career is a tragedy," her dance instructor Guillermo Asca told ABC. "She was vibrant, dynamic, kooky, someone who didn't take herself seriously but took work seriously."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (45)
Related
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Simone Biles' Husband Jonathan Owens Supports Her at 2024 Olympic Finals Amid NFL Break
- The Daily Money: The long wait for probate
- 4 Suspects Arrested and Charged With Murder in Shooting Death of Rapper Julio Foolio
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Is This TikTok-Viral Lip Liner Stain Worth the Hype? See Why One E! Writer Thinks So
- Are you an introvert? Here's what that means.
- Man shot and killed in ambush outside Philadelphia mosque, police say
- Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
- Wisconsin high school survey shows that students continue to struggle with mental health
Ranking
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- US suspends $95 million in aid to Georgia after passage of foreign agent law that sparked protests
- As average cost for kid's birthday party can top $300, parents ask 'How much is too much?'
- Georgia website that lets people cancel voter registrations briefly displayed personal data
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- 'Crying for their parents': More than 900 children died at Indian boarding schools, U.S. report finds
- Team USA Olympic athletes are able to mimic home at their own training facility in France
- Officer fatally shoots armed man on Indiana college campus after suspect doesn’t respond to commands
Recommendation
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
Here's where the economy stands as the Fed makes its interest rate decision this week
Jack Flaherty trade gives Dodgers another starter amid rotation turmoil
Inheritance on hold? Most Americans don't understand the time and expense of probate
Why Sean "Diddy" Combs Is Being Given a Laptop in Jail Amid Witness Intimidation Fears
Vermont man evacuates neighbors during flooding, weeks after witnessing a driver get swept away
2024 Olympics: Gymnast Laurie Hernandez Claps Back at Criticism of Her Paris Commentary
Boar’s Head expands recall to include 7 million more pounds of deli meats tied to listeria outbreak