Helen Davey, 39, died after a malfunctioning ottoman bed fell on her neck.
A mother of two was asphyxiated by her own bed at her Seaham home in County Durham, UK
On June 6, 2024, mother-of-two Helen was killed in a rare accident involving a defective ottoman bed that collapsed, leaving her suffocated between the mattress and bed base.
Her body was discovered by her eldest daughter
Elizabeth, 19, explained how she saw her mother’s body: “I went upstairs, my mam’s bedroom door was wide open, and I saw her lying on her back with her head under the bed,” Betty said. “Her legs were bent as if she was trying to get up. I dropped everything that I was holding and tried to lift the top of the bed off her head,”
Ottomans are designed to provide more storage under the bed
Despite its gentle-closing design, Helen’s bed malfunctioned unexpectedly. According to Durham and Darlington senior coroner Jeremy Chipperfield’s conclusions, the “unexpected” disaster was caused by one of the bed’s two gas-lift pistons being “defective.”
Elizabeth tried performing first aid on her mother’s body
When the police arrived at the scene, Elizabeth told them, “I noticed that her face was blue with a clear indent on her neck from the frame. I managed to pull her clear. I feared that she was dead as she made no sound. I started CPR and noticed that she wasn’t breathing.”
Helen died of ‘positional asphyxia’
Her death was ruled accidental at the inquest on October 4.
An ambulance was called, but paramedics were unable to save her, and Davey was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Measures to stop future misfunctionalities
In a letter to Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary for Britain, Chipperfield cautioned that more deaths are a possibility “unless action is taken,” citing the “existence and use of gas piston bed mechanisms whose failure presents risk to life” as a “matter of concern.”
The beauty salon owner’s daughter took to the internet to give tribute to her mother
Helen had owned her own beauty salon, All Dolled Up, out of her new terraced home. Following the tragedy, detectives went around questioning neighbors. According to one of them, Betty fled their house the night of the accident and hasn’t returned since.
Helen’s father, Robert Casson, talks about losing both his children
Helen’s father has recently talked about the grief of losing his daughter, revealing that the family had previously lost their son, Luke, in a terrible accident when he was only 16 years old.
In their shared eulogy, he expressed his emotions: “Both lost in tragic accidents and will be missed our whole lives. Our love and thanks go out to everyone who has contacted us with messages, cards and flowers. There are no words that cover it.”
Helen was eulogized next to where her brother’s ashes had been placed
Earlier this year, Helen was buried with her brother’s ashes. The 66-year-old has spoken out about the unfathomable grief he faces after losing both of his children to tragic accidents.
