'Happy for another chance': Parents of 9-month-old tot who choked and died at nursery welcome second baby
KENT, ENGLAND: The heartbroken parents of a toddler who died after choking at a nursery in 2021, has welcomed their second child last month. Baby Oliver, Zoe and Lewis Steeper's son, was only 9 months old when he had a choking incident at the Jelly Beans Day Nursery in Ashford, Kent, in September 2021. He died just six days after that in the hospital.
The ecstatic father recently said that he and his wife are over the moon to have been given a second chance at parenthood. Zoe, 32, who is a swimming teacher by profession and surveyor Lewis, 37, have named their second child Jake Oliver Steeper.
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What did Baby Oliver's parents say?
"Oliver was our first, and honestly the best baby you could ever have wished for…he was just perfect," the father said, according to Daily Mail. "It's a strange feeling, knowing the new baby will probably look and sound the same as Oli. We are just happy we have been given another chance," said Lewis.
Zoe and Lewis said that they have decided to appeal a decision by the CPS not to bring criminal charges, while Kent Police have also delayed their investigation. The couple has announced the decision on the Oliver Steeper Foundation website. They are also raising their voices against government suggestions to lower the ratio of nursery carers to children to make childcare cheaper, with a petition gathering more than 100,000 signatures.
"After losing Oliver in an early years setting, we feel it's our duty now to protect other children from people who are trying to overhaul the sector," Lewis said while speaking of their attempt to prevent changes that would see nursery staff looking after more kids. The parents vowed to fight to overturn the decision.
"Whilst the initial investigation concluded that the nursery's policies and procedures were 'of poor quality and inconsistent' no accountability for our son's tragic and avoidable death will prevail at this moment in time," the statement said. "We are hugely disappointed and shocked at the initial decision, but we are far from deterred. We have now instructed specialist solicitors Leigh Day, who have lodged our appeal with the Crown Prosecution Service. We will leave no stone unturned as we feel that many key aspects of what happened on that day have been missed or ignored by the CPS."
What happened to Baby Oliver?
The nursery where Oliver's choking incident took place was permanently closed following his death. It was shut down after childcare inspectors Ofsted suspended its registration. However, the parents said they were extremely disappointed with Ofsted's handling of the case.
On September 23, 2021, when Oliver was given food at the nursery, he began to struggle to breathe. Just six days after, he suffered a heart attack and died at the Evelina London Children's Hospital. Heartbreaking pictures show him in his hospital bed surrounded by tubes.
The probe into his death was launched in August, and gave his cause of death as a brain injury and heart attack. But it was put on hold pending the outcome of investigations. "Kent Police carried out enquiries into the circumstances of a death at a childcare facility in Ashford on Thursday 23 September 2021," a spokesperson for the Kent police said. "Following a thorough investigation, no further action is to be taken and the investigation has been filed pending further information coming to light. A report will be prepared for the coroner."
"Kent Police referred a file of evidence to the CPS seeking a charging decision for two suspects in relation to Oliver Steeper's death. After a careful review of all the evidence, we concluded that there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction for either suspect," a spokesperson for the CPS said. "Oliver's death was a tragedy, and we understand how difficult it must have been for his family to hear our decision. Our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time. We have received a request from Oliver's family under the Victim's Right to Review Scheme. We will now conduct a further, full independent review of all the evidence. It would not be appropriate to comment further until the review has been completed."