The little girl passed away on her third hospital visit (Image: undefined)
The heartbroken mother of a four-year-old girl who tragically succumbed to an undiagnosed illness has voiced her anguish as protracted inquest delays mean she faces a harrowing four-and-a-half year wait for closure.
Lauren Marsh, 33, has endured an agonising delay following extensive investigations into the untimely passing of her daughter Bonnie. Described as ‘cheeky’, Bonnie fell critically ill and died in December 2021 after two hospital visits for symptoms including vomiting and fainting.
The young schoolgirl tragically collapsed on her third visit and was unable to be resuscitated at Norfolk and Norwich Hospital (NandN).
The formal inquest into Bonnie’s untimely demise was originally set for July 2025 but had to be pushed back to October due to the unavailability of witnesses. Now, Lauren and her husband Liam, also aged 33, are confronted with an additional six-month delay before they can learn the truth about their daughter’s mysterious death.
A distraught Lauren said: “I’m so mentally broken. We’re stuck in a horrible limbo. This is a never ending nightmare. She’s my daughter but it feels like she’s been the NHS’s property since she died. I just feel like someone needs to be held accountable now and things need to change.”, reports the Mirror.
The Marsh family (Image: Lauren Marsh / SWNS)
“We were finally at the point of getting answers and it’s been taken away from us.”
The inquest into Bonnie’s death was initially scheduled for July 2025, but due to witness unavailability, it was postponed. A new date was set for October this year – however, Lauren was ‘disgusted’ to discover this week that there is now a further six-month delay until April 2026.
Lauren alleges the reason given was ‘holiday’ booked by staff who were present at the hospital when Bonnie died and are witnesses at the inquest. Bonnie’s grieving parents were informed she might have had a genetic condition which could have contributed to her death – and her body was frozen without their consent.
On December 14, Bonnie attended school as usual, but when Lauren collected her, she noticed Bonnie’s eyes were slightly swollen and she appeared to have a cold. Lauren decided to keep Bonnie home from school the next day and on December 16, the young girl collapsed in the bathroom after being sick.
Her concerned parents called an ambulance and were told by paramedics her observations were fine and she didn’t need to go to the hospital. However, Lauren, from Attleborough, Norfolk, insisted Bonnie be taken as she was still vomiting and lethargic, despite previously being fit and healthy.
The inquest into Bonnie’s death has been delayed to April 2026 (Image: undefined)
The following day, Bonnie was taken back to the NandN Hospital by her father Liam as she continued to vomit. She was discharged and on December 18, Lauren contacted the Children’s Assessment Unit as Bonnie’s condition had not improved.
Lauren was advised to keep Bonnie at home, but she sensed something was amiss as the child was neither moving nor speaking. She said: “I took her in anyway – she was freezing cold, floppy and dying in my arms.
“I was wandering around the hospital trying to find someone to help her and it was a cleaner who saw me and lead me to the Assessment Unit. They had no idea we were coming because they’d said not to, but they took her to a bed and said she was very poorly.
“They brought in a cardiac arrest trolley and when I asked what it was for, they said it was ‘just in case’. All of Bonnie’s veins had collapsed and they were asking me to put a millilitre of water in her mouth every ten minutes. The doctors came in and gave me the syringe to put the water in my dying daughter’s mouth.”
Bonnie’s condition suddenly worsened and she suffered a cardiac arrest while Lauren was led to a separate room. She said: “I just sat there praying. The doctor came back in about half an hour later to say they’d restarted her heart but she was going to be transferred to Addenbrookes [Hospital in Cambridge] by helicopter.
“As she was speaking, I could see other doctors running back into Bonnie’s room. They said it was time to say goodbye but when I went into the room, Bonnie had already died.”
Lauren revealed the family received no immediate support following Bonnie’s death, including a lack of help to clean her daughter’s body and an absent chaplain visit. The police were also not informed of the sudden death and contacted Lauren early the next morning.
Initially, Bonnie’s family was told she died from dehydration due to norovirus, but a post-mortem examination disclosed that she had contracted Covid and the flu. During their first Christmas without Bonnie, they were informed by NandN that Bonnie might have had a genetic condition contributing to her demise.
Little Bonnie pictured with her family (Image: undefined)
The interim death certificate lists Bonnie’s cause of death as an “inborn error of metabolism” – commonly referred to as inherited metabolic disorders. Yet, Lauren stated tests conducted by Addenbrookes, Great Ormond Street, and a German clinic all came back negative.
Moreover, the family endured the distressing revelation before Bonnie’s funeral her body had been frozen to preserve samples.
Lauren said: “I’d gone to the funeral director and they were told when they collected her she was frozen. If they had to freeze her to preserve samples for testing, I understand.
“But no one told me they were going to freeze her. I was heartbroken – I hadn’t signed anything to give my consent. I had to wait four or five days to see her in the funeral home for her to thaw and she didn’t look like my Bonnie anymore.”
Bonnie, 4, died from a mysterious illness (Image: undefined)
In addition to her parents, Bonnie is survived by her loving brother, Teddy, now 12, and their cherished dog, Coco.
Scores of sympathisers lined the streets during Bonnie’s funeral procession, many donning pink. Adding to the family’s sorrow, they were notified that a witness was unavailable just three days before the much-anticipated inquest was set to commence.
The inquest was pushed back to October 2025 – and has since been delayed another six months. The new dates for the formal inquest into Bonnie’s death are now set for 13th to 15th April 2026.
Lauren said she learned about the update through a family member – and has not received direct contact. The Norfolk Coroner’s Office stated they could not comment on individual cases.