A toddler
drowned in the swimming pool of his family's £3million mansion after his
father left him alone for five minutes, an inquest has heard.
Arthur Belmonte was dragged from the water by his father after he was found floating face down in the deep end.
The
one-year-old, who could not swim and usually wore a life vest and arm
bands in the pool, was taken to hospital where he was declared dead.
One-year-old Arthur Belmonte was dragged from the pool at the mansion in Ascot, Berkshire, by his father
Arthur
was last seen in the television room of the five bedroom property,
watching a cartoon with his older brothers, aged six and five.
The
inquest yesterday heard his father, Luis Felipe Belmonte dos Santos,
left the boys alone for just five minutes to fetch a camera when the
tragedy occurred.
On
July 6, the family were throwing a picnic party in the sprawling
grounds of the mansion they were renting, but planning to buy in Ascot,
Berkshire.
A
marquee had been erected in the garden and Arthur's half-sister, Julia
Ramos, 19, removed the cover from the pool to allow the water to heat up
in the sun.
Mr
Belmonte dos Santos, an investor, left the three brothers in the
television room watching cartoons after spending an hour outside playing
football with them.
'I
was away for no longer than five minutes,' said the father-of-three in a
statement read to the inquest at Reading Civic Court.
'When I returned to the television room I saw only the two elder boys and I did not see Arthur.'
The inquest heard the family were throwing a party at the five bedroom property they were planning to buy
Mr
Belmonte Dos Santos raced into the kitchen where his wife Paula and a
number of helpers were preparing food and asked, 'where is Arthur?'
'I didn't wait for a reply, I went into the living room and then out into the garden as quickly as I could,' he said.
'I went straight to the swimming pool and saw Arthur's body, he was in the deep end face down in the water.'
It was believed Arthur had got outside after travelling, unnoticed, through the property's expansive kitchen.
Patio doors in the television room were left permanently locked, the coroner was told.
Arthur's
grandfather, Luiz Paro, who was visiting from Brazil, was in an
upstairs bedroom when he realised that something had happened.
'I became aware of my son-in-law screaming,' he said in a statement.
Mr
Paro recalled hearing desperate voices as people rushed to the pool and
seeing Arthur's body being pulled from the water by his son.
Arthur's mother performed CPR on the toddler while they waited for the emergency services to arrive.
The toddler is believed to have
climbed onto the pool's rolled-up cover and tumbled in. Coroner Peter
Bedford recorded a verdict of accidental death
An
air ambulance and road ambulance were sent to the Ascot property and
crews described finding Arthur in full cardiac and respiratory arrest.
The toddler was taken by road ambulance to Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey and after 11 cycles of CPR, he was declared dead.
A special paediatric post-mortem examination concluded the toddler died as a result of water immersion.
Arthur's family said he knew the dangers of the swimming pool and never jumped in.
They believe he had climbed onto the rolled-up cover and tumbled into the water.
A police investigation concluded that there were no suspicious circumstances involved in the child's death.
Senior
coroner for Berkshire, Peter Bedford said: 'The family gave a very
comprehensive and consistent description of what all parents would
identify as every parent's worst nightmare, which is a tragic, tragic
incident for the Belmonte family.'
He recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Arthur's family did not attend the hearing and were said to have been in Brazil.
No comments:
Post a Comment