Girl, 5, drowned in bath while mum tended to crying son, inquest hears

A five-year-old girl to death after her mum left her in a bath to respond to her son who was crying in the garden. Natalia Baxanean left her daughter Paula Baxanean unattended for a few minutes, at their home in Dublin, , but revealed her shock when she found her little girl was unresponsive.

Natalia said her daughter was laying on her side in the bath, she was not moving and her skin had turned purple. Paula, who had a which had resulted in delayed development, was rushed to a local children's but tragically died.

The mother told an everything was normal on May 19, 2024, when she was at home with her two children. She described giving her daughter something to eat before running a bath for her at around 5pm, according to .

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Natalia said she turned her attention away from her daughter when her son, who was playing in the garden, started crying so she left Paula in the bath to check on him. She outlined how she brought the boy into the kitchen to comfort him after finding out that he had fallen and cut his leg.

The mum told the inquest she then found her daughter and started chest compressions in a desperate attempt to bring her back to life. Her husband, Vasil, and neighbour quickly rushed to the home to help with CPR attempts and called an ambulance.

One paramedic noted that there was vomit on the floor and around the girl's face. The the inquest, wiping tears from her eyes, Natalia described begging doctors at the hospital to keep trying to resuscitate her daughter after they had indicated that they could not get a heartbeat.

The inquest heard medical staff continued CPR on the girl for a total of 30 minutes before a decision was made to cease attempts at resuscitation - she was pronounced dead at around 6.15pm.

Natalia, speaking through a interpreter, also told the inquest her daughter was non-verbal, required assistance to walk, and often suffered from seizures which would force her to spend long stays in hospital. The mother said Paula's latest seizure, which lasted around 30 seconds, had been around two weeks before her tragic death.

Police said they were satisfied there was nothing suspicious in relation to the circumstances of the girl's death. Cops said paramedics were originally uncertain why she was undressed and wet when they found her on the floor of the living room at the family' home but later understood that the fatal incident had occurred while she was having a bath

Coroner Clare Keane said the results of a post-mortem showed that the deceased had died as a result of acute drowning, although she also noted Paula's significant health conditions.

The coroner said there was nothing to suggest that the girl had suffered a seizure in the bath, while the food she had consumed before the bath was "not relevant to anything that happened". Keane said the fatal incident was "a tragic accident" which had taken place "really quickly and unexpectedly".

Recording a verdict of accidental death, the coroner offered her sympathy to Natalia "for the heartbreaking loss that your family has suffered".