A family has been left devastated after their 'bubbly and bright' three-year-old went to bed 'healthy' and didn't wake up the following morning. The body of Eva Rydings, from Oldham, was found surrounded by vomit at her grandmother's home on June 11 last year, the MEN reports.
An inquest at Rochdale Coroners Court on March 13 heard that the three-year-old was seemingly 'healthy' and 'normal' when she went to bed at around 8pm the night before except for a mild runny nose. Senior Coroner Joanne Kearsley ruled that the youngster who 'loved life' and was a 'little daddy's girl' tragically died from unknown causes.
It was heard that Eva had slept on a pull-out bed that was slightly angled on the night of her death, meaning her head potentially laid at an angle higher than the rest of the body. However, the mattress was described as 'very soft' and it was concluded by the coroner there was not enough evidence to suggest this contributed to Eva's death.
Paying tribute to Eva, one of her guardians, Shaun Casey, said she 'loved life' and had so much ahead of her. He said "She came to us at five weeks old, and she was a proper little daddy's girl.
"She loved going to the farm with her mum and sister. She was mad about Peppa Pig. She was looking forward to starting school."
He said the months since Eva's unexplained death in June had been 'tough' and the family had been left desperately seeking answers about how their little girl could go to bed healthy but never wake up again.
Shaun continued: "We had numerous holidays booked with her, so that's going to be difficult. Christmas last year was very hard. But she just loved life."
Detective Inspector Abigai Cronin from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said while investigating Eva's death, she was told the three-year-old frequently spent the night at her grandmother's house. DI Cronin said the gran had put Eva to bed for the night in a room shared with a family member but at around 8am the following morning, she was woken by the boy who said Eva was unconscious and 'looked dead'.
After finding Eva unresponsive on her bed and surrounded by vomit, she swiftly called an ambulance and asked Mr and Mrs Casey to come home. Paramedics arrived at the address on Fir Lane shortly after 8am and found the youngster in her bed facing the ceiling while Shaun administered CPR.
Stuart Humphries, from North West Ambulance Service, said he found Eva's mouth filled with vomit and blood. The inquest heard how he gave her 'advanced life support' but did not see any change in her condition.
Eva was sadly pronounced dead at Royal Oldham Hospital after she was transported there via air ambulance. Consultant Paediatric Pathologist Dr Gemma Petts, who carried out Eva's postmortem, confirmed she discovered traces of 'several viruses' including pneumonia and Strep A in Eva's blood, but insisted this was 'normal' and she did not believe it was significant enough to have contributed to her death.
She explained: "It's not entirely impossible that Eva had an infection with group A strep because she did have pneumonia, but for her to have an infection that contributed to her death, I would have expected to see much more severe evidence of inflammation." She told the court that the post mortem explained why Eva had been sick but not why she had been 'unable to move away' from the vomit or an exact cause of death.
Eva other's guardian, Deborah Casey described her as a 'bright, bubbly girl' who was 'very switched on and smart for her age' and 'always smiling'. Coroner Kearsley said that there was not enough evidence to say that Eva's sleeping position contributed to her death and concluded the youngster's death as unascertained and recorded an open conclusion.
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