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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Aaliyah Rugg & Ryan Merrifield

Newborn girl dies at home as dad wakes up to find her 'wedged' between sofa and wall

Mystery still surrounds how a baby girl died after being found "wedged" between a sofa and a wall, an inquest heard.

Six-week-old Cassidy Blossom Oakley was found unresponsive at around 11pm on September 5 last year - and it appeared she'd fallen off a footstool.

Heartbroken dad Jacob described being woken up by a "higher force" after dozing off before seeing his little daughter on the floor at the family home in Runcorn, Cheshire.

Cassidy's inquest was held in Warrington on Wednesday but failed to give definitive answers as to how she died, reports the Liverpool Echo.

Jacob and partner Megan paid tribute to their tragic child in a statement read out in court which described Cassidy as their "bright, blue-eyed baby girl".

Cassidy's attempted CPR before paramedics arrived (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

She was a twin but her sibling died during pregnancy.

The court heard Cassidy fell asleep at around 9.30pm while being watched by her dad, with Megan having gone to bed.

But at 11pm the mum was woken by Jacob shouting her name and "begging me to help", she said.

She raced out of bed and saw Cassidy limp and not breathing in her dad's arms.

The hearing was told the couple attempted CPR until paramedics arrived and the child was then rushed to Warrington Hospital.

Megan explained that Cassidy could not have turned over by herself and the footstool she was sleeping on was part of the coach in the corner of the room.

She added: "There was no way she could’ve rolled off. She was lay on a baby pillow, the intention was not to keep her on there.

"Sadly my partner shut his eyes and unintentionally fell asleep. If you all have children you know how exhausting it is."

Cassidy regained a heartbeat but sadly was not "breathing responsively".

Cassidy was transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital (LIVERPOOL ECHO)

Concerns were raised at the hospital that there was a failure in communication, with the emergency call operator talking Megan and Jacob through CPR for an older child, not a baby.

However, Dr James Wallace of Warrington hospital told the inquest the CPR technique would likely have made no difference as the main thing was that it was "being done".

The hearing was told Cassidy had suffered a second cardiac arrest which was likely due to low oxygen levels.

Eventually, she was stable enough to be transferred to Alder Hey and was taking "occasional raspy breaths" only.

There were also signs of "catastrophic damage to her brain".

The following day Cassidy's parents were told she was brain dead and she later died peacefully on September 9 after her life support was switched off.

Pathologist Dr George Kokai said he was faced with a situation where "everything looked normal apart from minor changes" when carrying out a post-mortem examination.

The position in which young Cassidy was found, and evidence of bleeding behind her eyes suggested a lack of oxygen, he said.

He gave an initial cause of death as accidental asphyxia due to Cassidy being found wedged between a sofa and a wall, adding there was "no pathological explanation for her passing".

The inquest ruled the CPR technique was not to blame for the baby's death (Getty Images)

However, concerns were raised over a potential missed hereditary heart condition which the family say may have contributed to her death in some way.

Dr Kokai said this was the first he had heard of a heart condition and his job was not to "check validity of data", rather to carry out a post-mortem.

He added there was evidence, however, of "prolonged hypoxia" - meaning a lack of oxygen.

The inquest was told of a suggestion Cassidy could have "jolted" off the seat, following a potential heart attack.

Assistant coroner Heath Westerman concluded that the CPR techniques advised "made no difference" to the eventual outcome.

He went on to say there were "no pathological findings to explain Cassidy's passing" and there was no evidence of heart defects or seizures causing her to die.

On Cassidy's positioning, he added: "I can't speculate as to whether she ended up there by her own movements or those by her father who was asleep next to her."

He gave the cause of death as asphyxia and recorded it as an accident.

"I'm so deeply sorry for your loss as a family," he added.

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