A 3-year-old girl died in a terrible bath accident after she turned on the taps: An inquest has heard that a three-year-old daughter drowned in her bathtub at home. On September 26, 2023, Iris-Mae Aubrey’s parents discovered her unconscious in their Abertillery home.
During an inquest held at Gwent Coroner’s Court on May 15, 2024, it was revealed that Iris-Mae had become ill at school on the day of the incident. Her grandmother picked her up early and took her to her Montague Street home, where she stayed with Iris-Mae’s mother Chelsea until her father Ryan came home from work that afternoon.
Calpol was administered to Iris-Mae, who slept on the couch until later that night when she puked on her pajamas. Her mother came up to check the water temperature and make sure it was halfway filled to her daughter’s waist after her father had given her a bath upstairs.
Chelsea left daughter Iris-Mae at 8:25 p.m. and went downstairs to get her a towel and clean up. According to the inquiry, Iris-Mae would frequently contact her mother to let her know when it was time to get out of the bath. About twenty-five minutes after she left her, at 8:50 p.m., Chelsea walked upstairs and discovered her daughter in the bathtub.
She took her outside, started CPR, and dialed 911. When Wales Ambulance Service paramedics arrived at around nine o’clock at night, they tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate Iris-Mae; at nine forty-one, she was declared dead. Caroline Saunders, senior coroner, stated that it seemed that Iris-Mae had accidentally turned on the bath taps while she was left alone. This was a “terrible event which will never leave” the family, according to Ms. Saunders. She came to the conclusion that Iris-Mae’s death was an accident and that she had drowned after being left unattended.