Death of 'healthy' girl, three, found in bed will remain a mystery

Death of ‘healthy’ girl, three whose body was found in her bed after she went to sleep with a runny nose will remain a mystery as coroner rules she died from unknown causes

• Eva Rydings was found dead by her five-year-old brother at her grandmother’s
• A coroner has now ruled an open verdict as her cause of death is not known 

A coroner has ruled the cause of death of a ‘bubbly and bright’ three-year-old girl who went to bed appearing healthy only to be tragically found dead the next morning by her five-year-old brother will remain a mystery.

Eva Rydings, from Oldham, had just a mild runny nose before going to sleep in a room shared with her brother at her grandmother’s house.

But her grandmother was woken by her brother at around 8am the next morning to find little Eva unresponsive, surrounded by vomit.

Eva’s brother told his grandmother Eva would not wake up and ‘looked dead’ – causing her to rush to check on the infant before immediately calling paramedics.

A coroner ruled Eva died from unknown causes, recording an open verdict which means her guardians may never know what caused her sudden death.

A coroner at Rochdale Coroners Court recorded an open verdict into little Eva’s death

On the night of June 10 last year both children were to stay at their grandmother’s house, which Rochdale Coroners Court heard was a frequent occurrence, The Mirror reports.

Eva had been put to sleep on a pull out bed, which may have left her head at a higher angle than normal – but Senior Coroner Joanne Kearsley said there was insufficient evidence to draw any conclusion that this may have been related to her death.

Guardians Sean and Deborah Casey have been left devastated by her loss.

Mr Casey said: ‘She came to us at five weeks old, and she was a proper little daddy’s girl.

‘She loved going to the farm with her mum and sister. She was mad about Peppa Pig. She was looking forward to starting school.’ 

He said the last few months have been ‘tough’ on the family, and that Christmas was especially difficult.

He added: ‘She just loved life.’

Ms Casey told the court Eva was a ‘bright, bubbly girl’ who was ‘very switched on and smart for her age’. 

Giving evidence, Det Insp Abigail Cronin, from Greater Manchester Police said on the morning of June 11 Eva’s grandmother swiftly called for paramedics and asked Eva’s guardians to come to the house.

Paramedics arrived at the address shortly after 8am to find Eva lying in her bed facing the ceiling, as Mr Casey administered CPR.

Stuart Humphries, from North West Ambulance Service, said he found Eva’s mouth filled with vomit and blood.

Eva was rushed to hospital in an air ambulance but was sadly declared dead.

Consultant Paediatric Pathologist Dr Gemma Petts said that during the post-mortem she found traces of ‘several viruses’ including pneumonia and Strep A in Eva’s blood, but added this was ‘normal’ and she did not believe it was significant enough to have contributed to her death.

She continued: ‘It’s not entirely impossible that Eva had an infection with group A strep because she did have pneumonia, but for her to have an infection that contributed to her death, I would have expected to see much more severe evidence of inflammation.’ 

The Coroner said Eva was a ‘little girl who was clearly loved and cared for by a great number of people’. 

She recorded an unascertained cause of death. 

Source: Read Full Article