A ‘vulnerable’ disabled boy fell ill at school and died after ingesting cocaine, an inquest has heard.
Isaac Mansfield, 10, died after being rushed to Newham Hospital having become unwell at the John F Kennedy Special School in Stratford.
He was transferred to St Mary’s paediatric intensive care unit in west London but died four days later on September 6, 2023, East London’s Coroner’s Court heard.
His death was judged by doctors to be from natural causes stemming from an underlying metabolic disorder for which Isaac had received ongoing treatment.
A death certificate was issued, a funeral followed and the case seemed closed.
But a routine toxicology examination later revealed a urine sample contained metabolites of the Class A drug cocaine.
This triggered an inquest into how the boy was exposed to the substance.
Senior east London coroner Graeme Irvine said: ‘A rather unusual set of circumstances have led to Isaac’s death being referred to the court.’
A ‘vulnerable’ disabled boy fell ill at John F Kenedy Special School in Stratford, pictured, and died after ingesting cocaine, an inquest has heard
He credited the ‘sharp eyes of Isaac’s GP’ for the cocaine sample coming to light.
‘That immediately triggered a referral to the Westminster coroner who in turn instigated a transfer request to this court,’ he added.
Dr Andreas Marnerides, a consultant paediatric pathologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, was called to provide an ‘expert medical opinion’ on Isaac’s death.
He said: ‘From my review, I could see that there was – on the balance of probabilities – a reasonable proposition in terms of a natural disease.
‘The other piece of the puzzle I needed to work out is that the toxicology examination evidence reasonably allows one to consider that there may be an unnatural element to the cause of death here.’
The consultant explained that ingesting cocaine can cause rhabdomyolysis, a dangerous condition caused by the rapid breakdown of skeletal muscle, releasing harmful muscle proteins and electrolytes into the bloodstream.
‘What I can say is that it is reasonable for one to take the view that it most likely contributed to rhabdomyolysis developing,’ Dr Marnerides added.
‘That is far as I can go on the available evidence.’
He died after being rushed to Newham Hospital, pictured, having become unwell at the school. His death was initially judged by doctors to be from natural causes
Isaac’s father, Andrew Montlake, asked Dr Marnerides about the percentage of cocaine users that go on to develop rhabdomyolysis.
The coroner referred to his line of questioning as ‘incredibly speculative’, before reminding him it was an inquest, not a trial.
Mr Montlake replied: ‘If you’re going to shut us up, you’re going to shut us up.’
Meanwhile, Funmiola Jackson, a nurse at the school, revealed she took care of Isaac before he was taken to hospital.
‘He was lethargic, he was very, very tired – he looked very, very tired – and very hot to the touch,’ she said.
‘He had lots of stomach movements off-and-on, he was semi-conscious off-and-on – the temperature reading was 40.6 celsius.’
She added that Mr Montlake urged her not to call an ambulance as Isaac would face ‘unfamiliar faces’ at the hospital.
Ms Jackson had no explanation for how the boy had come to ingest cocaine that day.
Philomena Adu-Boahen, a carer also in the company of Isaac at the JFK school, remembered Isaac being ‘a bit unsettled’ on September 6.
Earlier, paramedic Laura Barry told how she responded to a call from the school over concerns about Isaac’s health.
She said Isaac had a ‘temperature of 40.6 celsius, had been vomiting, was suffering from dystonia and had been crying all day’.
The paramedic also backed up the notion that Mr Montlake had been against Isaac going to hospital.
Ms Barry said the father’s attitude about Isaac going to hospital ‘did raise some safeguarding concerns’ but she did appreciate there are ‘differences when a child is known to be quite vulnerable and has long-term health care needs’.
Mr Montlake asked the paramedic why his son was taken to Newham Hospital and not Royal London, which he claimed was a more familiar environment.
He clarified that the family would like the inquest to ‘consider’ this as a causal factor in relation to Isaac’s death.
The inquest continues.
