A mum- of-four was tragically discovered dead lying next to her three-year-old daughter after she failed to turn up to pick up her kids from school. Nicole Barnes, 29, who's been described as ''one in a million'' mysteriously passed away in her house in Bootle on October 3, while in the company of her youngest child.
Her partner, Craig Sharnock, was contacted by the school to inform him that Nicole had not picked up the kids, which led to the discovery of the beloved mum's body. The young woman's friend, Gemma, desperately tried to revive her, while paramedics were called out to the home, the Mirror reports.
Heartbroken partner Craig has revealed how he was made redundant from his job only weeks before and was forced to find new work as a trainee carpet fitter. The devoted stay-at-home mother leaves behind four young kids, between the ages of 3 and 10, and Craig is concerned he won't ever be able to get back to work as he needs to care for his five year old son, Tom, who is severely autistic.
He said that Nicole fought for years to try get her son the right help but sadly failed. Nicole's cousin Kim Jowett has set up a fundraiser to help "ease the financial burden" of Craig and their children. The GoFundMe page has raised more than £13,000.
Kim said: "She picked up Delilah at 11.30am from nursery and was just waiting round to go back and pick her children up. She just passed away on the couch. She was an absolutely gorgeous young girl. She didn't have a bad bone in her body.
"She was an absolutely amazing mum and she did everything with such grace. She was a better mum than I ever could be. She had loads of issues with getting her five-year-old into help and into school because of his autism but she didn't stop. She fought and fought until he got everything he ever needed."
Nicole's cause of death is not yet known and Kim said her death has left everyone unbelievably sad. The family are waiting for results from the autopsy to find out why she died. Her family said she was "fit, healthy and never had anything wrong with her".
Kim, 36, added: "She was such a gorgeous soul. No one in the world could ever say a bad word about her. One of her friends, Gemma, tried to do CPR. The medics did everything they could. 'When they looked at the ring camera she had stopped answering the door for two hours.
"This is going to be so hard for Craig. It is so sad she has lost her life and left her four poor babies behind. She was one in million and she left such an amazing impression on everyone's hearts and her children will never forget that.
"It is unbelievable how sad her mum Dawn and her dad Tom are. Nieve has took on a mums role and is trying to be like her mum and help to take care of everyone but she shouldn't be doing that. This is just how she saw her mum, as someone who looked after everyone."
Many friends and family from as far as the Netherlands have said Nicole's death has broken their hearts. Her closest fiends have organised a 'fundraiser cup' in her memory to raise money for her four children. It will take place at 12pm on Saturday, October, 15.
It will be hosted on the King George V Playing Fields on Longview lane, Huyton. To donate to the Gofundme page you can visit the link HERE
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