Notting Hill toddler’s blind cord death was accidental, inquest told

Tuesday, January 15, 2013
11:42 AM

The death of two-year-old girl who became entangled in a blind cord at a house in Notting Hill was accidental, a coroner has ruled.

Alexandra Lucy Hoegh died in her bedroom at her family’s four-storey home in October.

The inquest heard the toddler was found by her nanny Melinda De La Cruz when she went to wake her from an afternoon nap while her mother Dana Hoegh chatted to a friend downstairs in the kitchen.

Alexandra, who was three weeks from her third birthday, was given mouth to mouth in the street by her mother as they waited for an ambulance.

Westminster Coroner’s Court heard how she and Ms Mathiesen were found by police crying hysterically in the street as paramedics fought to revive the youngster.

Mrs Hoegh told the inquest Ms De La Cruz - who had trained in childcare in her native country but did not complete the course - had arrived late for work at 1.50pm.

She took over from her mother Andrea, who cleaned and helped nanny for the Hoegh’s, apologised to Mrs Hoegh and then went upstairs to get the toddler at around 2.10pm.

“A couple of minutes after that we heard a scream, then another scream,” Mrs Hoegh told the inquest.

“We went to the door of the kitchen and met Melinda with Alexandra.

“She was blue. She was not breathing.

“I ran downstairs into the street. I asked my friend Catherine to call an ambulance and started mouth-to-mouth on her on the pavement.”

She added that Alexandra’s colour came back straight away and she was a little sick but she did not respond further.

She was taken to St Mary’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 3.17pm.

Alexandra’s father Morten Hoegh, 39, is the chairman of Hoegh LNG - a multi-billion pound oil and gas shipping company based in Norway.

Mrs Hoegh said her daughter, the youngest of the couple’s three children, had been her usual happy self and had been to her play group that morning.

The inquest heard Alexandra was “very adept” at climbing in and out of her cot, using a table next to it.

The cot was by the window, which had a roller blind fitted.