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UNIMAGINABLE PAIN
‘Cheeky’ toddler died after being found unresponsive in bed – as devastated parents say his death ‘doesn’t make sense’
The area coroner delivered an open verdict
A 'CHEEKY' toddler has died after being found unresponsive in his bed leaving his parents devastated, an inquest heard.
Nadia and Marty Stapleton found Sullivan motionless in the early hours of December 16 2023 at their home in Emsworth, Hampshire.
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The toddler, known to his family as Sully, was rushed to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham, Portsmouth.
Professionals tried to regain his circulation but "despite resuscitation attempts" he died, an inquest heard.
Yesterday, Portsmouth Coroner’s Court heard how his cause of death remains unknown.
Area coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp delivered an open verdict as she did not deem there to be enough evidence to determine how he died.
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Heartbroken father Marty told the inquest: “I put him to bed and he was fine, he was laughing and joking, he was being his normal cheeky self and within four hours, he was gone.
"We are now left with this massive, massive gaping hole in our family - It just doesn’t make sense.”
Marty continued: “We didn’t get a chance to fight for him and that’s no one’s fault but we never got that chance.
“As a dad, he was my best friend, he was my shadow and now it is just so difficult to know there is no reason for this. It comes with its challenges and without our three daughters I don’t know where we would be.
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“As parents, losing a child is the hardest thing imaginable but seeing the pain we see in our three daughters, that’s part of this that we can never quantify.
"I know we want answers for ourselves but we want answers for them as well.“
Nadia said: “The pain we have as parents finding him completely unresponsive and not knowing how long he was like that for is the hardest thing because we don’t know if he suffered, or was in pain or how long he was like that."
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Mrs Rhodes-Kemp told the court that a post mortem revealed "nothing at all to imply why he may have died" but that previous incidents could have played a role in his death.
She said: “We will never know. It’s no one’s fault. It couldn’t have been avoided.
“This is a sudden unexplained death in childhood - the conclusion is natural causes but I don’t personally feel like I can put natural causes down because we don’t have enough evidence to confirm his cause of death.”
Nadia and Marty took Sully, along with his three sisters, to Disneyland Paris in November 2023.
During the holiday, Sully’s temperature spiked and he began having a febrile fit - seizure that occurs in children with a fever but no other serious health issues.
Sully was then admitted to a hospital in Paris at the time.
Mrs Rhodes-Kemp said: “Sometimes there just isn’t an answer and in this case, there doesn’t seem to be an obvious answer but I do agree that it poses the question whether it was the same thing in December.”
Following Sully’s death, a GoFundMe page was set up to pay for the funeral and help the family.
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At the time of writing, the fundraiser has raised £16,395 and more than 600 people have donated to try and help.
You can donate .
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