Arabnews24.ca:Tuesday 7 February 2023 02:31 PM: Archie Battersbee's mother has told an inquest that she believes his death last year was the result of a tragic accident.
Archie, 12, died in hospital after a lengthy legal battle by his family to prevent his life support from being withdrawn.
After months of court hearings, Archie died on 6 August after the High Court ruled it was no longer in his best interests to continue treatment.
Archie's mother Hollie Dance spent the morning giving often emotional testimony at Essex Coroner's Court in Chelmsford, as part of a two-day hearing into Archie's death.
She described Archie as the "apple of her eye", and broke down in tears as she recounted the traumatic moment that she had found him unresponsive upstairs in their home.
She said it had been a "normal day" in which she had taken Archie out to lunch, and gone shopping in Tesco, where he had told her he needed a new coat.
When they got home, she said he had been joking around and playing with their pet rabbit.
They had planned to go to the cinema later, and discussed what was on.
That was the last conversation they ever had, as 10 minutes later, Ms Dance said she found Archie unconscious on the stairs.
The court heard that she ran outside screaming, and a neighbour called an ambulance.
The rest, Ms Dance said, passed in a haze: "I remember sirens. Everything just seemed in slow motion.
"I was crying hysterically, 'please don't leave Mummy. I love you little man'."
Ms Dance reiterated her long-held conviction that Archie's death was an accident.
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She previously said that she believed he was taking part in a TikTok challenge that went catastrophically wrong.
On Tuesday, she said she did not know for sure, after police said they had found no evidence that Archie had been viewing any such videos on TikTok, or that he had attempted to film himself.
Senior coroner, Lincoln Brookes, also previously told an inquest review that there was "no evidence... to substantiate the fear of Ms Dance about an online challenge, whether on TikTok or frankly on any other platform or provider."
Speaking at the inquest, Ms Dance said: "I want to make it clear that I still do not know if Archie was trying a challenge.
"But police have confirmed Archie was watching TikTok a lot that day before I found him.
"I know that he could dwell on things, and I'm concerned he may have done this and so don't want any other children to be at risk."
Ms Dance said that Archie, who was a talented gymnast, "thought he was the next Spider Man" and had been obsessed with climbing from a young age.
She said it was her view that Archie had "climbed on the bannister and probably fell".
Archie's family are keen for the inquest to address the issue of online safety, in a similar way to the inquest into the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell, which found she died from "an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content".
Ms Dance said that, because it is impossible to retrieve everything that Archie was viewing on TikTok, we may never know if any kind of viral challenge was involved.
She did however make clear that she does not believe that abusive messages received by Archie on social media, which were recently revealed by the disclosure process, contributed to his death.
"We were going to the cinema. He was playing with his rabbit happily, the rabbit was still loose when I found him.
"There was not any indication of self-harming thoughts or motivations."
The court heard that Archie had previously raised his "low mood" with his mum, in a text exchange a few months before his death.
Police also found that he had discussed self-harm and suicide with others online.
Essex's senior coroner Lincoln Brookes asked Ms Dance how she felt when she found out. She said she was "heartbroken, very surprised... if there were any marks on his body I would have seen them."
The inquest continues.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. Alternatively, letters can be mailed to: Freepost SAMARITANS LETTERS.
