Tragedy of baby after parents went drinking

A 12-WEEK-OLD baby left home alone with his 11-year-old sister while his parents went out drinking, died after they later took him and his twin into their bed.

The couple then concocted a version of events to tell police, which resulted in them being considered for a criminal prosecution before it was decided no further action was appropriate.

The information was laid before an inquest in Oldham yesterday, into the death of baby Thomas Thompson.

His parents, Lisa and Thomas Thompson, of Ashton Road West, Failsworth, were commended for their “tremendous courage” in attending the inquest following a “traumatic” seven months since their baby’s death.

Coroner Simon Nelson said he accepted as an isolated incident their going out at 10.30pm and returning home at 2.30am, with Mrs Thompson “drunk” from six vodkas and a pint of lager and her husband “merry” after drinking four or five pints of lager.

But, he said: “Whatever stress you were under, in my view, didn’t justify leaving the twins in the care of an 11-year-old.

“It was a manifestly unfair decision on your part, irrespective of how mature the child was, as each of you had to resume your responsibilities and obligations to your children on your return home.”

The inquest heard that baby Thomas and his twin, Harry, were taken into bed with their parents when they cried to be fed.

Mrs Thompson said she left her husband to feed them because she wanted to go to sleep, and the next thing she knew it was morning and her husband was shouting that there was something wrong with Thomas.

She said her husband called for emergency help while she tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the baby.

Consultant paediatric pathologist Dr Gauri Batra conducted a post mortem examination with a colleague, and said they were unable to ascertain a cause of death.

She said the incidence of sudden unexpected death of an infant increased when a child shared a bed with parents, which she “absolutely advised against,” and although the cause was unknown, it could be down to an accidental airway obstruction.

The baby had evidence of patchy haemorrhage in his kidneys, liver, and a gland under the breastbone, which were indicative of a shortage of oxygen.

Mrs Thompson broke down during the inquest saying she had been finding it difficult to cope with four young children, and doctors failed to take her seriously when she asked for help for depression and extreme tiredness.

Her other daughter, aged nine, was staying overnight with friends when the incident happened.

She said the twins had been in and out of hospital since their birth, and added: “If they had been feeding properly, maybe none of this would have happened.

She added: “I needed a break,” and said of the couple’s decision to go out and leave their 11-year-old daughter in charge: “We don’t do things like that, it’s not normal.”

Recording an open verdict, Mr Nelson said there were two lessons to be learned from the tragedy — to serve as a warning to other parents who share their beds with young children, and of the “absolute and vital need to be up front with the truth” in any investigation by bodies such as the police or social services.

He told the couple it had been “incredibly foolish” to “concoct a version of events with a view to concealing the truth” with the consequences subjecting them to rigorous questioning and a prolonged police inquiry.

He sympathised with the family, saying no one could gauge how catastrophic the death of baby Thomas had been for them, and predicted the 24-hours surrounding his death would remain with them forever.