TikToker Michael Finch shares heartbreaking tribute to his best friend Veruca Salt’s newborn baby Cash following infant’s tragic passing

Michael Finch has shared a heartfelt tribute to his best friend and fellow influencer Veruca Salt after her newborn son Cash tragically died this week.

Veruca, whose real name is Kimberley Summer Hartley, revealed in a heartbreaking Instagram post on Tuesday that her six-week-old son Cash had “died in his sleep” the morning before.

The news caused an outpouring of grief among followers, with her best friend Michael taking to Instagram on Thursday evening to post a heartfelt message in honor of the deceased child.

Alongside a black and white photo of himself cradling the newborn, the Gold Coast food blogger wrote: “Uncle Michael loves you.”

Michael’s post comes after Veruca was forced to hit back at internet trolls who questioned how she was able to post videos to TikTok two days after her son’s sudden death.

Keyboard Warriors targeted the grieving new mother as she tried to cope with the devastating loss.

The 25-year-old hit back at a viewer who questioned how she could continue filming and uploading videos to the platform after the death of her newborn.

“No hate, but I don’t understand how people can make TikToks right after their kids die. Like camera setup, voiceovers, editing,” the person wrote.

‘I was in bed for weeks, an absolute mess. REST IN PEACE.’

Veruca returned fire Wednesday night.

“Your baby isn’t dead, mine is,” Veruca replied.

“I was literally talking to my friends about this, like it won’t take long to do something before people say ‘I wouldn’t act like that,’ from people literally imagining what it would be like,” she said.

“You have no idea because your baby isn’t dead. Mine does, and I found it this way and it won’t happen to you.

“And if it happened to you, you would know that bed is the last place you want to be, because God forbids you to fall asleep.

“Every time you wake up, you forget, and you go get your baby and he won’t be there.

“And you will be in someone else’s house, in someone else’s bed, because no one will leave you alone.

‘And you won’t want to go home to your bed. You don’t want to go home because your baby is everywhere in the house.

‘You have no idea what happens in my head every five seconds.

‘I feel crazy. I feel crazy. And you don’t get it.’

Followers quickly came to Veruca’s aid, assuring her that she did not have to explain her actions.

‘Everyone grieves so differently. Please never feel like you have to explain yourself. Don’t let people tell you to be strong and stop crying,” one woman wrote.

Another added: “YOU are grieving anyway. Post 1000 times a day or not at all. F who has a problem. No one knows this kind of pain unless they have suffered a loss of this magnitude.”

It comes just hours after Veruca posted a video of herself sobbing into her hands, with one of Cash’s jumpsuits in the background.

She captioned the video: “I knew he was dead but there was a part of me that really thought they were going to wake him up.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Veruca shared a video of her smiling newborn baby.

You could hear her say, ‘Oh my god, I love you so much. Do you know? Do you know how much I love you?’

Cash smiled and Veruca laughed as the video was captioned with a heartbroken emoji.

On Sunday, Veruca revealed on TikTok that the pair were out for Cash’s “first trip to the hospital” because “he hasn’t pooped in seven days.”

She cradled Cash in her arms as she crawled looking at the little boy, dressed in a jumpsuit decorated with sea creatures, pelicans and lighthouses – unaware that she was spending her last precious hours with him.

After returning from the hospital on Sunday, Veruca assured fans in the comments of the video that Cash was “fine.”

A fan of hers wrote in a comment that her children had the same problem as little Cash “because I breastfed, and it was all natural.”

Veruca replied, “Yes, that’s why I’m not super panicked because he’s actually doing fine, I just wanted to check.”

Hours later, her son died.

Her social media accounts have been flooded with condolence messages after she announced Cash’s death in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

‘It is with a heavy heart that I write this. My baby died in his sleep Monday morning,” she wrote.

‘I don’t know what happened, he’s having an autopsy this week, but it’s unlikely I’ll ever get an answer.

“I’m only saying this because people still comment on my TikToks saying how happy I am with him and ‘just wait for the toddler phase’ and all that, and I really can’t take it anymore. I’m so sorry.’

Queensland Police said initial investigations indicate the death was not suspicious.

“At this time it is still under investigation and we are awaiting the results of the autopsy,” Gold Coast Chief Inspector Craig Hanlon said.

‘It is clearly a tragic situation and our thoughts go out to the mother and the family.’

Police confirmed they were called to a unit in Southport at around 6.13am on Monday.

Veruca gave birth to her son, Cash Harrison Stirling, on December 19 and confirmed the news with her followers in an Instagram post.

For confidential support, please call the Grief Line: 1300 845 745