Baby left to die alone from dehydration days after mum took fatal overdose
A 14-month-old baby died alone in a flat up to three days after his mum’s sudden death from inhaling lighter fluid, an inquest has heard.
Experienced paramedics were left ‘visibly upset’ when they found the bodies of Harry and Natalie Kane inside their home in Whitehaven, Cumbria, in December last year.
Friends and relatives told an inquest into their deaths that Natalie was a loving and devoted mother who was excited for her first ‘proper’ Christmas with the toddler.
But none could fathom why the 27-year-old, who previously suffered with addiction but was found to be clean just a week earlier, decided to huff lighter fluid sometime on Christmas Eve.
Natalie died after succumbing to the catastrophic effects of the voluntary inhalation of butane, coroner’s assistant Margaret Taylor concluded.
She was found lying next to a pile of unopened presents, the inquest heard.
Ms Taylor added: ‘Harry died as a consequence of dehydration having been left alone following the death of his mother.’
A post-mortem examination suggested he may have survived for up to three days after Natalie died.
The inquest heard Natalie grew up in Cumbria and attended Maryport Primary School before spending time in the Sea Cadets, which allowed her to travel around the world.
She also modelled for Littlewoods and later joined the Army where she served as an HGV driver before being discharged due to issues with alcohol.
Natalie suffered with depression throughout much of her life and was receiving support from services including Recovery Steps Cumbria and Women Out West after suffering from drug addiction and domestic abuse.
One friend noted that she was keen to avoid her ex-partner and Harry’s father to avoid repeats of negative behaviours.
All those who knew her and gave evidence to the inquest spoke of her as a loving and devoted mother whose life revolved around Harry.
She would take him to the park every day and had no childcare as she wanted to be with him as much as she could.
Her brother Scott recalled the excitement when she told of her pregnancy and noted she grew up a lot from that point.
Natalie was not thought to have taken drugs after Harry’s birth and engaged happily with those services.
In the lead up to her death, she saw friends and spent some time with Scott who had brought a balance bike as a Christmas present for Harry.
By all accounts, she was excited for a first ‘proper’ Christmas with Harry and had bought lots of presents for him to enjoy.
On December 24, she had been shopping at Tesco in Whitehaven and spent some time with a friend. She was due to visit her grandmother but was unable to when a train was cancelled.
She had planned to visit another friend, Stacey Hackett, with Harry on Christmas Day but stopped responding to messages the previous evening.
Stacey said she was not concerned when the pair did not show up as this was not considered to be unusual and she believed they had instead gone to spend the day with their family.
It was also not out of the ordinary for Natalie to go several days without speaking to her family and friends, the inquest heard.
Police were finally called on December 30, when Natalie failed to collect a prescription and had not been in contact with any of the services.
An officer was sent to the flat but got no response. He spoke to neighbours in the surrounding flats at Wellington Row who recalled not seeing her for a few days.
The officer received permission to enter the property, which was unlocked, and found Natalie lying in the living room next to unopened Christmas presents.
A paramedic noticed the presence of a substance in her nose and bottles of lighter fluid, consistent with substance misuse. Harry’s body was then found in the bathroom.
In a statement summarised by Ms Taylor, Scott said of his sister: ‘She was one of the best mams I’ve ever seen.
‘She was so loving, thoughtful, and caring. The last year of her life revolved around Harry.’
Harry was described as a happy baby who clearly loved his mum.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.