The final moments of a 'thriving baby' who died suddenly without explanation have been heard at an inquest. On November 3 an inquest to determine whether there was an "unnatural element" to baby Jackson Walters' death concluded, but left questions for his family.
Jackson was born on June 17 last year and died five months later on December 1, after his mum Katie Walters found him "unresponsive and appearing blue" at 8.30am. She attempted to resuscitate him at the Stanton Hill home they had recently moved into and he was then taken to King's Mill Hospital where he passed away at 9.04am.
One day before on November 30, he had been taken to a clinic at Chesterfield Hospital for a check-up after he was admitted to intensive care in Sheffield and Leicester in the months before his death for bronchiolitis, a common chest infection that affects babies. This left his mother concerned that something had been missed by medical staff, but at the inquest it was found that no neglect of suspicious or criminal activity had contributed to the baby's death.
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It also found he was not suffering from recurrent bronchiolitis. Assistant coroner for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Fiona Gingell read from and heard a number of statements from witnesses in the Council House in Nottingham before making her conclusion.
A statement from Helena Clements, who was a consultant paediatrician at Sherwood Forest Hospitals at the time of Jackson's death, said that when he arrived at King's Mill Hospital further resuscitation was attempted but proved unsuccessful. She explained he was a "well grown" infant and that while there were some risk factors such as co-sleeping and prenatal smoking, she had no concerns about Mrs Walters' parenting.
Dr Frances Hollingbury, a forensic pathologist who spoke at the inquest, examined Jackson on December 7 at Leicester infirmary. She was told by Jackson's mother he was put to bed at around 10pm but remained "unsettled" after being sick earlier in the evening.
He fell asleep at around 11.30pm that evening, but in the morning Jackson's mum was "immediately concerned" when she woke up at 8.30pm as she was usually woken up earlier by him. Dr Hollingbury found nothing to suggest he had been subject to long-term lack of care or neglect.
She did find Jackson had inflammation in the back of his throat which would be in keeping with viral infections, but said there was nothing to suggest this had caused his death. Dr Hollingbury explained that when discovered by his mum Jackson "had rolled onto his left side, was unresponsive and appeared blue."
She concluded: "I am of the opinion that the medical cause of death remains unascertained." Dr Hollingbury acknowledged that Jackson's mother had been worried something had been missed at the Chesterfield clinic but found "nothing that indicated he needed any treatment for an infection the day prior to his death."
Detective Inspector Parminder Dhillon was the senior officer attending after Jackson's sudden death and concurred nothing suspicious had taken place. "I was on duty on December 1 when police were called by East Midlands Ambulance Service at 8.50am in the morning [to an address in Stanton Hill]," Inspector Dhillon said.
The inspector outlined that the address was secured whilst he spoke to the responding officers and took verbal accounts from those at the property. Mrs Walters' blood was taken for drugs and alcohol checks, which came back negative.
Detective Inspector Dhillon added: "I came to the conclusion that there were no suspicious circumstances. From a policing point of view there were no suspicious circumstances."
Assistant Coroner for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Fiona Gingell concluded there was "no suspicious or criminal wrongdoing on the part of anyone". She concluded there was no evidence of any natural disease or of a long-term lack of care, finding there was nothing to suggest he needed treatment shortly before his death and that there was no recurrence of his previous bronchiolitis.
She said: "I accept the medical cause of death [put forward by Dr Hollingbury] and will record the same." The inquest came to an open conclusion, due to the unascertained cause of death.
After apologising that the inquest had not found a definite cause of death for Jackson's family, Miss Gingell added: "He was a well cared for and thriving baby who was much loved [by his family]. It is a truly tragic case and I wish to take this opportunity to pass my condolences to Jackson's mum and extended family."
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