Latest news with #inquest
BBC News
9 hours ago
- BBC News
Mum found dead with daughter feared losing her
A mother who was found dead alongside her disabled daughter in their home had repeatedly refused support from local services, an inquest has bodies of Alphonsine Djiako Leuga, 47, and 18-year-old Loraine Choulla were found on 21 May 2024 in a house in Hartley Road in Radford, Nottingham, though it was believed they had been dead for some time before they were discovered. Nottingham Coroner's Court heard they had moved into their council home in June 2019 following a homelessness in the years before her death, Alphonsine's engagement with housing and social services dwindled and she feared her youngest daughter would be taken away. The inquest, which started on Monday, heard how Alphonsine had called 999 from her house in February, pleading for an ambulance and saying she could not after the call was mistakenly considered an abandoned call and closed, nobody medical cause of death was proposed as pneumonia while her daughter's was "unascertained".On Tuesday, the court heard how in the years she lived in Hartley Road, Alphonsine started to refuse access to her property from housing services and other social care agencies. Alphonsine had been in the property since 2019 and initially engaged with council a statement read to the court, assistant director for tenancy and estate services at Nottingham City Council, Kathy Sheldon, said after 2021 "access to the property became more difficult".Several inspections were missed and as a result the gas supply to the property was capped in 2023. In October that year Alphonsine asked the city council for the gas to be turned back on, but did not grant access to her property for that to happen, the inquest was told. That meant from 2023 the house had no hot water and no heating. The court also heard how Loraine, who had Down's Syndrome and learning disabilities, stopped attending her SEN school from 2022, after her mother asked for her placement to be had been raised by the school between 2021 and 2022 about her daughter's low also refused help with Loraine's college applications and in September 2022 Loraine was "formally [considered] not in education, employment, or training", the inquest was told there was also a lack of engagement with support from the city council's Whole Life Disability Team, which provides specialist social care to Brettel, a city council SEND director, said in a statement: "Loraine was trying to engage with professionals but Alphonsine was trying to prevent her from doing so."During a conversation with Alphonsine, she expressed that she was really worried about Loraine."He added Alphonsine expressed fear that the specialist social care workers would "take Loraine away from her". Alphonsine, who was originally from Cameroon, moved from Italy - where her two daughters were born - to the UK in September three were housed in Hartley Road by the council in 2019 but her eldest daughter, Elvira Choulla, moved out of the property in April a statement to police which was read to the court, Elvira said after July 2023, her contact with her mother became less month, Alphonsine took Loraine on holiday to Africa, not telling Elvira until they had arrived, which she said upset added her mother travelled a lot - usually to Italy or Cameroon - and "usually for long periods of time"Of her sister's education, Elvira said: "Initially Loraine attended school all the time and loved it, but eventually Alphonsine believed Loraine was being neglected at school." 'Truly loving mother' Her last contact with Loraine was in November 2023, after Elvira visited her sister and mother for a family dinner."We had a lovely time and we had a lovely meal and I got to see Loraine and Alphonsine together," she going forward, their contact was further limited and when Elvira visited the house in early 2024, she said the house was "in darkness and there were no signs of life" inside. She was later told by a friend that her mum and sister had been seen in friend advised her against contacting the police over concerns about their whereabouts. The final time she attempted to contact Alphonsine or Loraine was in April. "Loraine and I had an amazing relationship and she was, and still is, my best friend," Elvira said. "I loved Loraine and every time I was with her I could tell she loved me added of her mother: "We had a strained relationship at points, however she took great care of Loraine and was very patient and very understanding, and was a truly loving mother."The inquest continues.
BBC News
12 hours ago
- BBC News
Prison guards laughed and joked before inmate died
Prison officers were caught on body cam footage laughing and joking while restraining an inmate who later died, an inquest has Dawes-Clarke, 28, was serving time at HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent when he suffered multiple cardiac arrests, both during and after the incident on 10 November 2021. The father-of-four had tied a ligature around his neck before officers intervened and began an "inappropriate and disproportionate" restraint which "escalated unnecessarily", the court was at Kent and Medway Coroners Court in Maidstone concluded that officers had showed a "deeply concerning lack of care and compassion" throughout. Staff were captured on video joking about the size of the handcuffs they needed for Dawes-Clarke as he writhed and screamed on the floor."Animalistic" language was also used, with the inmate being described by officers as being "like a bucking bronco". The inquest also revealed handcuffs were wrongly applied, with jurors finding it "inappropriate for paramedics to have approved the handcuffing" given their lack of training to administer such added there were "significant shortcomings" from all present in response to Dawes-Clarke's medical emergency and him subsequently going limp. He went on to suffer two more cardiac arrests in the ambulance to the hospital, followed by a fourth and final one upon arrival. The inquest found that "throughout the restraint, the proximity of one prison officer's knee to Dawes-Clarke's chest was bad practice". "On top of this, leadership was lacking and control of (the prisoner's) head was not prioritised".Along with the initial self-ligature, this "combination of factors" was cited as having led to Dawes-Clarke's death - the medical cause of which was a lack of oxygen and/or blood flow to the the inquest, his sister Shay Inico said he had died "in the most shocking circumstances - restrained, neglected, and dehumanised while prison staff and paramedics who were trained to save lives stood by and did nothing". Assistant coroner for Kent Ian Brownhill has commissioned three separate prevention of future deaths reports as a result of this case.A HM Prison Service spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Azroy Dawes-Clarke."Since this incident we have taken action to improve staff training around use of force, and we will now carefully consider the inquest's findings in full."
Times
14 hours ago
- Times
Rosie Roche: William and Harry's cousin found dead at home
A cousin of the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex has been found dead at her family home. Rosie Roche, 20, the granddaughter of Princess Diana's uncle, died at her home in Norton, near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, on July 14. An inquest into her death was held on Monday at Wiltshire and Swindon coroner's court. It heard that the first-year student, who was studying English literature at Durham University, was found at the property by her mother and sister. Roche had been packing her bags to go away with friends and a firearm was found nearby, it was said. Grant Davies, the area coroner, said police 'have deemed the death as non-suspicious and there was no third-party involvement'. The case has been adjourned until October 25. Roche was the granddaughter of Edmund Roche, the late Lord Fermoy. His sister was Frances Shand Kydd, the mother of Princess Diana. A death notice in the Yorkshire Post said: 'Roche, Rosie Jeanne Burke. Died on Monday 14th July 2025. Darling daughter of Hugh and Pippa, incredible sister to Archie and Agatha, granddaughter to Derek and Rae Long.'Private family funeral. A memorial service will be held at a later date.' Professor Wendy Powers, the principal of University College at Durham University, said: 'University College staff and students are extremely saddened by the tragic death of Rosie Roche. 'Rosie was a first-year student studying for an English Literature degree. Rosie had settled into the university and college beautifully and had lots of friends.'She was loved for her creativity, energy, her love of books, poetry and travel among many other talents. She will be sorely missed.'Our thoughts and condolences are with Rosie's family and friends, and we are offering support to those affected at this extremely difficult time.' At Durham University, Roche contributed to an arts and culture publication based in the northeast. According to her LinkedIn, before going to university she had previously attended St Mary's Calne, a girls' independent boarding and day school in Wiltshire. The school has been contacted for comment. Wiltshire police said at the time: 'This relates to the sudden death of a woman in her 20s. There are no suspicious circumstances and our thoughts are with her family. 'We would ask that their privacy is respected at this terrible time.'' Her death comes a year after Thomas Kingston, the husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, the King's second cousin, took his own life in February last year at his parents' home after being prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a common type of antidepressant. An inquest said Kingston, 45, who married Lady Gabriella in 2019, was found dead in the bathroom of an outbuilding of his parents' Cotswolds home on February 25. He had killed himself with his father's Michael of Kent paid tribute to her son-in-law, saying he was 'a lovely man, so kind and so thoughtful', she added that the royal family 'never had an inkling that anything was wrong'.
The Independent
16 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Mother and daughter found dead three months after 999 call
A 999 call made by a mother who was later found dead along with her 'entirely dependent' daughter led to no ambulance being sent despite the call handler being given their address and postcode, an inquest has heard. Nottingham Coroner's Court was told Alphonsine Djiako Leuga, 47, suffered from sickle cell anaemia and died from pneumonia, while her 18-year-old daughter Loraine Choulla had learning difficulties and Down's syndrome and relied on her mother for food and hydration. An inquest into the deaths, expected to last for five days, began on Monday with assistant coroner Amanda Bewley hearing that Ms Leuga called 999 three months before her body was found, telling a call handler she was cold and could not move. The hearing was told that during the call, made shortly after 1pm on February 2 last year, Ms Leuga groaned, requested an ambulance and said 'I need help to my daughter' and 'I'm in the bed, I feel cold and can't move' before cutting off the line. She also gave details of her address in Hartley Road, Radford, Nottingham, where her body and that of her daughter were found on May 21 last year. Giving evidence to the inquest, East Midlands Ambulance Service's head of patient safety, Susan Jevons said the call handler, an emergency medical adviser, should have referred the call to the control room despatch officers. Ms Jevons said attempts had been made to call Ms Leuga back, but she told the inquest: 'The call should have been left for an ambulance to attend once we had got the address, which we had. The ambulance didn't go to the address because the emergency medical adviser, thinking it was an abandoned call, closed the call down. 'So it wasn't visible to anybody within the emergency operations centre.' The coroner told Ms Jevons she would have to consider the possibility that sending an ambulance to the address 'might have been the difference between life or death' for Loraine. The inquest was told that Ms Leuga was admitted to hospital for a blood transfusion in late January last year as she was critically ill with very low iron levels, and was given a 'pragmatic' discharge linked to her daughter's care needs. The coroner asked Ms Jevons whether, if she found at the end of the inquest that Loraine had died after her mother, there had been a 'missed opportunity' in relation to the teenager's death. Ms Jevons responded: 'Yes, there was a missed opportunity for an ambulance to attend Alphonsine when she requested one.' Earlier, pathologist Dr Stuart Hamilton told the hearing by video-link that the mother and daughter were both likely to have been dead for 'weeks to months' before they were found, rather than for days or hours. Dr Hamilton said his initial cause of death following a post-mortem examination on Ms Leuga was pneumonia of uncertain cause, while her daughter's cause of death could not be established. Answering questions from the coroner, the pathologist said he could not rule out that Ms Leuga had died on the day of the 999 call. The body of Loraine, who the inquest was told was 'entirely dependent on her mother to meet her hydration and nutritional needs', showed no evidence of any third-party involvement. Dr Hamilton said of the teenager: 'Unfortunately, based on the post-mortem examination and additional tests alone, it is my view that the cause of death is classed as unascertained – that is, I am not able to give a cause of death on the balance of probabilities.' Asked to comment on the possibility that Loraine's death may have been because of dehydration or malnutrition, Dr Hamilton answered: 'There is nothing in my findings that say any of that is incorrect.' Loraine was more likely to have died from dehydration than malnutrition, the witness said, if it was accepted that she 'wasn't able to make the decision to drink water' because of her difficulties. The inquest continues.
Telegraph
19 hours ago
- Telegraph
Princes' cousin found dead at home
Prince William and Prince Harry's cousin has been found dead at her family home. Rosie Roche, who was the granddaughter of Princess Diana's uncle, died at home in Norton, Near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, on July 14. The 20-year-old was found by her mother and sister after she had been packing for a trip away with friends, an inquest heard on Sunday. A firearm was found nearby. Roche had been attending Durham University where she studied English Literature. An inquest was opened at Wiltshire and Swindon coroner's court and adjourned until Oct 25. Grant Davies, the area coroner, said police 'have deemed the death as non-suspicious and there was no third-party involvement'. A spokesman for the family said she 'will be sorely missed'. An obituary published by the Yorkshire Post said: 'Roche, Rosie Jeanne Burke. Died on Monday 14th July 2025. 'Darling daughter of Hugh and Pippa, incredible sister to Archie and Agatha, granddaughter to Derek and Rae Long. 'Private family funeral. A memorial service will be held at a later date.' The student was a descendant of the Barons Fermoy and the eldest child of Edmund Hugh Burke Roche, 53, and his wife the former Phillipa Kate Victoria Long. Her grandfather was the 5th Baron Fermoy, Princess Diana's uncle, who shot himself dead in 1984. Last February, Thomas Kingston, 45, the son-in-law of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, was found dead at his parents' home with a 'catastrophic head injury' and a gun close to his body. Lady Gabriella Windsor has said her husband took his own life in an 'impulsive action' prompted by a cocktail of sleep and anxiety drugs.
