Four-month-old boy died in his baby bouncer in ‘filthy’ home with traces of cocaine and cannabis in his system, inquest hears
- Grant John Storey-Delaney died at his home in Rochdale in February 2022
- Rochdale Coroner’s Court heard litter trays in house were full of urine and feces
A four-month-old baby boy found dead with cocaine and cannabis in his system was living in a ‘filthy’ home, an inquest has heard.
Little Grant John Storey-Delaney died while in his baby bouncer at his Rochdale home.
He was found ‘turning grey’ by his mother Sophie Riley with a blanket over his face, Rochdale Coroner’s Court heard.
Paramedics tried to save his life but he was pronounced dead at the scene on February 22, 2021.
The hearing heard the home was ‘filthy and cluttered’ with rubbish strewn all over the floor.
Little Grant John Storey-Delaney was found dead while in his baby bouncer at his Rochdale home. He had traces of cocaine and cannabis in his system
Floral tributes were left outside the tot’s home after he was found ‘turning grey’ by his mother Sophie Riley with a blanket over his face
Detective Inspector Maxwell said it was ‘one of the worst addresses’ she had seen in her near three decades within the force, with litter trays full of cat urine and feces.
READ MORE: Four-month-old baby boy is found dead by police in Rochdale home
A post-mortem examination found that several factors could have caused or contributed to the infant’s death.
These included the temperature of the house, which police measured at 26C at 3.30am, and the drugs found in his system.
The ‘baby bouncer’ he was sleeping in could also have been a contributing factor, which was described as ‘not a safe long term sleeping position for a child’, ‘either in isolation or combined’.
A scab ‘unlikely to have been caused by his own movements’ was found on the tot’s head but did not play any part in his death, pathologist Dr Philip Lumb said.
Ms Riley and Grant’s father, Steven Delaney, were both initially arrested on suspicion of child neglect, but were bailed pending further enquiries, the inquest heard.
DI David Crewe told area coroner Caroline McKenna, upon admission to custody, Ms Riley said: ‘I’m not going to lie I have had coke before but never around Grant.’
Blood taken from both parents while in custody showed cocaine presence consistent with ‘recreational use’, he added.
Ms Riley and Grant’s father, Steven Delaney, were both initially arrested on suspicion of child neglect, but were bailed pending further enquiries
The inquest was told the most likely way cocaine and cannabis had entered Grant’s body was through ‘contamination’ – for example, if his food was prepared on a surface that had previously touched the drugs.
DI Crewe told the hearing he had ‘considered’ charges of murder and gross negligence manslaughter.
READ MORE: Nursery worker pleads not guilty to manslaughter charge over death of nine-month-old baby who died ‘due to unsafe sleep environment’
‘The difficulty was, due to him having an unascertained cause of death, it was not possible for me to show a causation between positive actions or omissions from any person and Grant’s death,’ he said.
The inquest heard a number of ‘non-death’ offences are ‘actively being considered’, with enquiries ongoing.
Grant had been classed as a ‘child in need’ by social services before his birth due to Ms Riley’s previous involvement with child protection, which saw her have children removed from her care, the inquest heard.
Independent chair of the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Partnership Amanda Clarke told the hearing a child safeguarding practice review had raised ‘questions’ over why he was not placed on a child protection plan.
She said that as a child in need Grant should have been seen by health and social care professionals weekly, but he was not.
The inquest heard that Ms Riley and Mr Delaney had been more ‘engaged’ with health and social care professionals in the first two months of Grant’s life, but from December the couple refused social workers entry to their home.
Ms Clarke said the safeguarding review had highlighted the ‘theme’ of how agencies working with families ‘manage and deal with what may be seen as non-engagement by parents’.
She added that information sharing between different agencies was ‘not satisfactory’ as Grant’s GP, who was not included in any reviews or assessments, had important knowledge about Ms Riley’s mental health.
Historical information regarding Ms Riley’s other children was also not considered as ‘quickly and fully as it should have been’, Ms Clarke told the inquest.
The inquest heard a number of ‘non-death’ offences are ‘actively being considered’, with enquiries ongoing.
Ms McKenna ordered Ms Clarke to provide further information on the changes made by social services in Rochdale following Grant’s death to assist her on whether it was necessary to commission a prevention of future deaths report.
Concluding, she said: ‘Grant was found in a filthy and cluttered home where the boiler was set to 80C, cat litter trays were filled with feces and bags of rubbish were strewn across the floor.
‘The post-mortem evidence was unable to arrive an exact mechanism of death. I have heard, however, that Grant had drugs in his system, so there is evidence he was exposed to both cocaine and cannabis, and whilst I can’t find that this caused or contributed to his death, I felt they should be recorded in the record of inquest.’
While she ruled the cause of death as unascertained, coroner Ms McKenna recorded an open conclusion, noting that Grant had been found with drugs in his system in a ‘unsanitary’ environment.
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