The guy is an absolute toad.

Not under the "always assume best intentions" principle, I have read similar descriptions from people that were near someone dying without actually physically holding them.

That only applies to people who haven't repeatedly proven themselves to be acting/speaking in bad faith.

If Lucy pulls away the football 27 times, you aren't required to go running at it the 28th.

it depends if lucy is idempotent

She may have hidden internal state. Or she may be pure. How many tries before we are going to make an assumption?

> Not under the "always assume best intentions" principle, I have read similar descriptions from people that were near someone dying without actually physically holding them.

In such a case: "Died in front of me" would be accurate. "Died in my arms" is a lie.