A coroner has determined that a mother and daughter perished in a Burger Hut from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a tragic error.
At today’s inquest into the deaths of 50-year-old Leah Churchill and her 17-year-old daughter, Brooke Wanstall, the fatal error was made clear.
On the evening of June 16 of this year, they had gone to the Meet ‘n’ Greet snack waggon located off Old Thanet Way in Whitstable to adorn it with banners and balloons.
When Tyla, Leah’s son, showed up the next day to start work, it was supposed to be a surprise 26th birthday party.
However, the inquest heard that they had ignited a petrol generator for heat or lighting, which caused them to be rapidly overtaken by fumes.
Thus, rather than seeing a joyful moment, Tyla, the owner of the waggon, discovered his mother and sister’s lifeless bodies in a horrifying and unsettling way. There was a birthday card tucked off to the side
Both of them had deadly amounts of carbon monoxide in their systems, according to a toxicology test.
At the inquest, it was revealed that Tyla, of Whitstable Road, Faversham, dialled 999 to get help, but that neither his mother nor his sister would survive.
Detective Sergeant Zak Foote, who examined the site, attested to the absence of third parties’ involvement in a statement he gave during the court.
He claimed that “one or the other” appears to have turned on the fuel generator inside the confined area “without realising they would be overcome by carbon monoxide.”
DS Foote declared that he did not think Leah or Brooke intended to commit suicide and came to the conclusion that their deaths were unintentional.
Since neither of them were at work, assistant coroner Catherine Wood said there wasn’t a health and safety concern.
She said: “My only conclusion is that their deaths were accidental – most likely due to the generator having been turned on in an enclosed space”.
None of the family were in attendance at today’s hearing.
The Valentine’s Day tragedy sparked an outpouring of grief and sorrow with Tyla issuing a warning over the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.
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