The parents of a baby who was just 26 days old when he was found dead in his Moses basket say he was a 'content and amazing' little boy. They paid tribute to their son following the conclusion of an inquest which was held to examine the circumstances surrounding the death.
During the hearing, the coroner said there were some "unanswered questions" over the baby boy's death. The inquest touched on the death of Joseph Tissington who was found "cold and unresponsive" at home on July 27 last year. Mum Fiona Tissington, who is again pregnant with a baby girl, and dad Philip Tissington had welcomed Joseph into the world three weeks before.
During the inquest at Nottingham Council House on Thursday (August 4), the circumstances surrounding his death were detailed. The hearing was told Mr Tissington's ex-partner Sinead Rogerson had been staying for a short while with the family at the time.
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On July 27 Ms Rogerson had been sleeping on an airbed in the same room as baby Joseph. Assistant coroner Dr Elizabeth Didcock said Ms Rogerson had been the first one to notice Joseph "was not breathing" shortly after she woke up at around 7am to go to the toilet.
Ms Rogerson attended the inquest to give evidence. Recalling the days before the tragedy Ms Rogerson, from Lincolnshire, said she had arrived at her ex-partner's house in Jacksdale with her three children during the summer break. The 32-year-old told the hearing the parents were struggling to sleep because Joseph "was a hungry baby", and he was moved into her room for a couple of nights.
Ms Rogerson said she noticed "Joseph's chin was not moving" and said she proceeded to give him CPR before calling for the parents. Mrs Tissington, who said she was "in shock", called the ambulance while the dad continued to perform CPR on Joseph.
Assistant coroner Dr Didcock questioned the events of the night. She said: "I accept the account taken by the police that he was put down to sleep on his bed in a vest and nappy because it was hot.
"He was fed around 3.30am and he was fed well. Sinead woke up and went to the toilet and on the way back she found Joseph unresponsive. She told the court today she picked him up, put him on the floor and tried to resuscitate him.
"I find this account to be different to the account of the police on the morning of his death. She said today she had forgotten to include this part. She thought she had attempted to resuscitate him for a couple of minutes before putting him back in his basket before Phil arrived.
"I find there was a short delay in calling for assistance. But it is unlikely this had made a difference and a sooner ambulance call would be unlikely to have made a difference."
The emergency services arrived at the address and baby Joseph was taken to King's Mill Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Assistant coroner Dr Didcock said no concerns over injuries to the baby were noticed or discovered while he was in the emergency department.
After Joseph's death a post-mortem was conducted by Dr Michael Biggs at Leicester Royal Infirmary. While he concluded the cause of death was "unascertained", with no evidence of natural disease, infection, trauma or injury, he added there had been "significant lung haemorrhaging particularly prominent in Joseph's case".
Similarly there was iron staining in his lungs from haemorrhaging a few days prior, which can sometimes be attributed to an "airway obstruction". However the coroner said Dr Biggs could not entirely exclude it was a natural death.
Assistant coroner Dr Didcock then considered events in the past involving Ms Rogerson. She told the hearing Ms Rogerson's baby, Theo, had also died under similar circumstances with haemorrhaging in the lungs. Nottinghamshire Police investigated the matter.
Parminder Dhillon, Detective Inspector of Nottinghamshire Police, who attended the inquest, said the two-bedroom house was "cluttered and messy" and he had "concerns about the room being untidy".
"As part of our investigation we looked into Philip and Fiona's history," he said. "We have also found that Sinead had a baby that passed away in similar circumstances a few years ago."
However, the force concluded there was "no substantial evidence" for any criminal activity or link between the two baby deaths. But the inquest was told this was considered to be a potential risk factor ahead of the birth of Mrs Tissington's next child in seven weeks.
Concluding the inquest, assistant coroner Dr Didcock said: "I worry about the risk to the [unborn] baby. We have some unanswered questions and I will therefore record an open conclusion. I thank the witnesses and of course I express my sincere condolences. I am so sorry for the loss of Joseph."
She added she would ask that Nottinghamshire's social services remain in contact with the family ahead of the birth of their daughter. After the inquest, Mrs Tissington said she was seven weeks off giving birth and that the couple would name the baby Renezme-Josefina.
After the inquest the parents said they feared there were complications in the days before Joseph was born when Mrs Tissington was admitted to hospital. Mr Tissington said "he had the umbilical cord wrapped around his head twice" but, within a few minutes after being born, Joseph began crying and his colour returned. Joseph then had a stay in intensive care as a precaution.
Speaking outside the Council House following the inquest, Mr Tissington said: "In the fleeting time he was here he was great. The only time he would cry is if he was hungry or he needed his nappy changing. He was content just sitting there staring at you. He had big feet for his age."
Mrs Tissington added: "I've got his actual hand and footprints on the side of my leg. We thought they were going to put it down to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). He was amazing." On the inquest findings, the family said they understood the coroner was "on about the risk factors when she (Renezme-Josefina) is born". Mr Tissington added his ex-partner will be moving out before Renezme-Josefina is born, and said: "It was cluttered, yes, but it is less cluttered now".
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