Mother relives horror at inquest for 4-year-old who died in tumble dryer
Sonny Gibson was discovered inside the machine by his mother, Anne, at the family home in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, on July 26 last year.
At an inquest into his death at Derby Coroner’s Court, Mrs Gibson said she returned home that morning after spending the night at a friend’s house.
She had not intended to stay over, she said, but had had a few too many drinks.
Sonny had been left in the care of teenage family members, which was a common arrangement, but was not in his room when she went upstairs that morning.
She told the court: “I said ‘Who’s got Sonny up?’ and they just grunted at me.
“Then I ran downstairs and checked where he was and I could not find him.”
Mrs Gibson said she checked the usual places Sonny liked to hide, such as behind the settee, under beds and in wardrobes, and other family members went to search for him outside.
She rang the police after about 30 minutes of searching and it was when she was checking the house again with a police officer that she made the terrible discovery.
Mrs Gibson fought back sobs as she told the inquest: “I checked all the house again, then I looked in the washing machine.
“I don’t know what made me look in the washing machine, and then I opened the tumble dryer door and he was there.
“I opened the door and he was just curled up.”
She said Sonny, who was “very independent for a four-year-old” had been caught by another family member trying to climb into the tumble dryer five or six months before his death.
“He was bending into it,” she said. “He was told if you want anything out of the tumble dryer you’ve got to come and ask but Sonny had no concept of danger whatsoever, he was not afraid of anything.”
Mrs Gibson, a care assistant, was arrested on suspicion of child neglect not long after Sonny’s death.
Referring to this, Deputy Coroner Louise Pinder asked her why she was not entirely honest with police in the aftermath of Sonny’s death, telling them that she had been with Sonny that morning.
Mrs Gibson said: “I told them that I had been at home and I had nipped out to get some cigarettes.
“I did not want my family getting into trouble or anything coming back on them so I thought that if I could direct it all on me then I could leave them out of it.”
All charges against Mrs Gibson were later dropped.
She told the court that Sonny’s father, Stewart, who was also present in court and from whom she is separated, shared custody of the youngster.
She also said Sonny had been a naughty child at times, managing to get out of his room and into the kitchen from where he once stole a knife and food from the fridge which he then threw at a family member while they were in bed.
To try to stop such incidents, the family installed a baby gate and chain on his bedroom door but Sonny learned how to use his toys to stop the gate shutting, Mrs Gibson said.
She also said Sonny learned how to operate the dryer from watching other family members and liked to put his favourite blanket in there to warm it up.
The court also heard from Home Office pathologist Professor Guy Rutty, who told the court that a postmortem exam revealed that he died from injuries which were consistent with the tumble dryer being “active” while he was inside it.
He told the inquest there was no evidence to suggest Sonny had been forced into the machine or that his injuries were caused prior to him getting into it.
Anthony Coombs, a scenes of crime officer, said tests were carried out to establish if the tumble dryer door could have shut and the appliance switched on with the youngster inside.
He told the inquest tests were done where an officer pushed the door open so it bounced on its hinge and swung shut, with the door hook latching into place.
He said that, with the timer set, “five out of six times, the door latch closed and the machine activated.”
Ms Pinder said it was impossible to know why Sonny climbed inside the tumble dryer, a Proline TDV60, but she believed he had set the timer himself and then the door either bounced shut as he got in or one of the two dogs knocked it shut.
She recorded a verdict of accidental death and added: “I hope that manufacturers will continue to look at the safety designs of tumble dryers.”
