Devastated father, 51, tells of horrific moment his perfectly healthy teenage daughter, 15, collapsed and died after choking on food at home
- Abby Reese Beaumont started coughing and collapsed on the kitchen floor
- Her father Darren was with the ‘fit and healthy’ 15-year-old as she passed away
- 51-year-old Mr Beaumont has described his daughter as his ‘best friend’
Abby Reese Beaumont, 15, passed away at her home in Mold
A heartbroken father has opened up about the harrowing moment he watched his teenage daughter choke to death in front of him.
Abby Reese Beaumont started coughing and collapsed on the kitchen floor of her home in Mold, Wales, on April 2.
Her father Darren was with the ‘fit and healthy’ 15-year-old as she passed away and is now demanding answers into her death.
Mr Beaumont, Abby’s mother Alison and 13-year-old sister Jessica, have waited five months for answers over her cause of death.
At an inquest opened in Ruthin, a pathologist said Abby had choked on food and gave a provisional cause of death as ‘foreign body aspiration caused by food stuffs’.
Ahead of the preliminary hearing earlier this week, Mr Beaumont said he went into Alun School, where Abby attended, to explain what had happened to her devastated fellow pupils.
The 51-year-old praised the school and Abby’s friends for their ‘overwhelming’ support since the tragedy and paid tribute to them for giving his family comfort.
He said: ‘For five months we’ve been hanging in limbo waiting for answers over Abby’s death. We wanted to know what the cause of death was, we waited a long time and we questioned everything.
‘We thought Abby was in perfect health and she was. It is such a sad way to die and we have been through a rollercoaster of emotions and we are devastated.
‘But we want to express our gratitude to the school and the children, some of them have been so special to us it’s been incredible.’
Mr Beaumont described his daughter as his ‘best friend’.
Abby Reese Beaumont started coughing and collapsed on the kitchen floor of her home in Mold, Wales, on April 2
He added: ‘The way we’ve brought our children up, they were both very mature.
‘When Abby died, it was more like losing a friend. That’s the kind of relationship we had.
‘Abby was beautiful, outgoing and confident but nice and caring with it and she always looked out for younger children.
‘She loved languages and could speak French and Welsh fluently.
‘She was doing remarkably well at school and had only just started talking about what she wanted to do with her future.
‘We always spent Saturday afternoons together when we’d go out for a meal as a family.
‘Abby was happy to be among friends and was equally happy in her own company.
‘She didn’t always feel the need to have to surround herself with lots of friends but the amount of people who came to us after she died proved how many people it had affected far and wide and how much she was loved by so many.’
A full inquest into Abby’s death will be held next year.