Baby chair tragedy at Willenhall home was accident, inquest rules

Micaiah Idowu died at just 15 months old at his family’s home on Tyler Road, Willenhall, on December 6, 2016, after trying to escape from a high chair he had been loosely strapped into by his mother Abiola Akanbi before she left to take her other children to school.

Micaiah was left in the front room of the house with his father, Saheed Idowu, who fell asleep for a few minutes as the tragic accident took place.

An inquest at Oldbury Coroners Court heard that Micaiah’s mother had bought a second-hand Mamas and Papas high chair from Gumtree a couple of months earlier but it did not come with a strap to secure a child.

She then attached a strap from an old high chair the baby used to sit in.

Police investigating whether there was any issue of neglect in relation to the death ruled there was not, after an expert said it would be very difficult for the average person to recognise the chair as a potential danger and that even someone with a knowledge of how such child safety products should work would struggle to do the same.

Speaking about the morning of the tragic accident, Ms Akanbi said: “The chair had come without a strap so I attached the one from his old high chair.

“We had no problems but on this day I left the house to take my children to school and came back to the room where I had left him and I couldn’t see him.

"I went into another room to look for him but couldn’t see him there, so I went back and saw he was at the side of the chair, with the strap around his neck. I screamed and woke my partner up, I ran to our neighbours to ask for help and they tried to resuscitate him.

“He was taken to hospital but they couldn’t keep him alive.”

Micaiah was described as a ‘happy, playful child’ during the inquest. Father Saheed Idowu said: “I had woken up very early that morning so I had been awake for a number of hours when the kids were taken to school.

“I lay on the sofa with him about five feet away from me but I fell asleep for a few minutes. I was woken up by Abiola screaming. I didn’t hear anything from the baby to wake me up and usually I can be woken easily even by my phone ringing.”

Detective inspector Peter Rowe, of West Midlands Police’s public protection unit, said that investigations after the death found that the chair was not fit for purpose at the time of its resale to the family, nor at the time of the death.

However, he ruled out any accusation of neglect in relation to the parents.

He said: “The chair was examined by experts and because the strap attached was not made to go with that chair, it was deemed not fit for purpose.

“At the point of sale it was not fit for purpose because it had no strap. As part of my investigation I had to analyse whether there was any neglect from the parents but I don’t believe there was.

"The chair would not have represented any danger to a layman and even experts have said they would have found it difficult to class as a danger.”

Coroner Zafar Siddique, who gave a verdict of accidental death, said he had considered writing to the Home Office to request they look at tightening up regulations in relation to the sale of such items, but deemed it would be too hard to police.

He said: “Unfortunately, what we have is a tragic set of circumstances but we have heard there is no allegation of neglect by either of Micaiah’s parents.

“I have considered writing to the Home Office to request they look at the sale of high chairs and similar items on sites like Gumtree but it would be too difficult to police.

“My sympathies are with the family at this tragic time.”