BABY BALLOON CORD TRAGEDY

CORONOR’S WARNING AFTER TOT DIES IN TRAGIC ACCIDENT

AN eight-month-old baby died in a tragic accident when the cord from a balloon got wrapped around her neck, an inquest has heard.

Malaysia Kaylia Lamour managed to reach out of her cot and grab the line, which was tied to her parent’s bed, but it became tangled around her and stopped her from breathing.

In a hearing at Bolton Coroner’s Court, area coroner Dr Alan Walsh heard that the baby was being cared for by her dad, Jackenson Lamour, and her mum, Brandy Kimberley Harvey, at their home in Irlams o’th’ Height, Salford.

Neighbours described the couple as ‘wonderful parents’ who were ‘friendly and very caring to Malaysia.’

Dr Walsh, who said Jackenson and Brandy seemed ‘wonderful’ parents, said he hoped that others who heard about Malaysia’s tragic death would be extra vigilant around strings and other cords.

The accident happened on the night of February 22 last year, just after Brandy had returned to the basement apartment that the family shared.

Her partner had left for work shortly after she had come home from her own job and she decided to sit for some time with Malaysia.

However, some time after 10pm, Brandy had needed to go into their kitchen to do some washing up and she left the baby in a crib at the foot of the couple’s bed.

The kitchen was up a small set of stairs and Brandy could still hear the baby making noises and occasionally crying in the bedroom while she cleaned.

But some time later the crying stopped and, when she rushed down to see what happened, she found the balloon cord wrapped around Malaysia’s neck. Brandy immediately cut it loose and called paramedics who arrived just after midnight.

They tried desperately to resuscitate the child but she was pronounced dead a short time later.

A police investigation into the incident found that there were no suspicious circumstances or evidence of first party involvement, Mr Walsh explained.

“All the inquiries show her mother and father to be wonderful parents, they all say they were very caring to Malaysia and it seems to me they were a loving family,” he added.

The balloon was a heartshaped Valentine’s Day gift that Jackenson had got for his partner and the couple had decided to keep.

The inquest heard evidence from Dr Philip Lumb, a pathologist who performed a postmortem examination on Malaysia.

He found that her cause of death had been compression of the neck and that is was likely she had tried to take hold of the balloon cord, before falling from either a sitting or standing position so that it became wrapped around her.

Concluding the inquest, Dr Walsh said that it was clear from the evidence that Jackenson and Brandy had been ‘perfect parents.’

He said he hoped that other parents who heard about the ‘catastrophic consequences’ of the accident would be extra vigilant around balloons strings and other cords.

“This was a tragedy of immense proportions,” Dr Walsh said.

“It’s important that I say that I accept this was an enormous tragedy for Malaysia’s parents and I can’t stress enough that they seemed to be wonderful parents who loved Malaysia.

“While nobody expects these terrible accidents to happen, they do happen, and it’s something to learn for other parents from the tragedy of Malaysia’s parents.”

He recorded a conclusion of accidental death.