A “cheeky” toddler died after being found unresponsive in bed though his cause of death remains unexplained, an inquest heard.
Little Sullivan was found non-responsive by parents Nadia and Marty Stapleton early at their home in Emsworth, Hampshire, on December 16, 2023. Sullivan, also known as Sully, was raced to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth but tragically died despite doctor’s efforts to resuscitate him.
The Portsmouth Coroner’s Court heard on Monday Sully’s death remains unknown. Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp, the area coroner, shared an open verdict and added there was not enough evidence to determine how the 19-month-old toddler died.
Grief-stricken dad Marty told the inquest: “I put him to bed and he was fine, he was laughing and joking, he was being his normal cheeky self and within four hours, he was gone. We are now left with this massive, massive gaping hole in our family. It just doesn’t make sense.”
Little Sullivan died despite best efforts to revive him
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According to The Sun, Marty continued: “We didn’t get a chance to fight for him and that’s no one’s fault but we never got that chance. As a dad, he was my best friend, he was my shadow and now it is just so difficult to know there is no reason for this. It comes with its challenges and without our three daughters I don’t know where we would be.”
Nadia said the pain she and Marty suffered when finding Sully was the “hardest thing” as they did not know if he suffered. Mrs Rhodes-Kemp told the inquest a post mortem revealed nothing “at all” to imply how he died.
“We will never know,” she said. “It’s no one’s fault. it couldn’t have been avoided.” Nadia and Marty took Sully and his three sisters to Disneyland Paris in November 2023.
But during the family getaway, Sully’s temperature spiked and he had a febrile fit, a seizure that happens in children who have a fever but no other serious health issues. Sully was then taken to a hospital in the French capital.
Mrs Rhodes-Kemp added: “Sometimes there just isn’t an answer and in this case, there doesn’t seem to be an obvious answer but I do agree that it poses the question whether it was the same thing in December.” A GoFundMe page was arranged following Sully’s death to help the family and fund the funeral.
Since being organised, the GoFundMe campaign raised more than £16,390 out of a £5,000 target. The fundraiser said: “Sully was a cheeky little boy who loved everything football. He could always be found wandering around with an apple in his hand, a smile on his face and a glint in his big beautiful hazel eyes.”
To view the GoFundMe campaign, click here.