A father woke up in shock to find his 11-week-old baby had died while lying next to him. Dom Sage, 29, discovered his baby boy, Mason Sage was “not breathing” at around 6.30am on the morning of September 16, 2021, with dry blood under his eye and nose, an inquest at Pontypridd Coroners’ Court heard.
Recounting his baby’s death to the court, he said: “I then opened his mouth and started breathing through his mouth and nose but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get any air into him.”
He woke his partner and Mason’s mother Emily Owens when he realised Mason wasn’t breathing.
Mr Sage said. “It was like blowing into a wall. The ambulance control room confirmed what I was doing was correct and they continued telling me what to do over the phone.”
Ms Owens, 28, called 999 as soon as she woke up and paramedics Clare Bunton, Emma Jane Williams, and Paul Rowberry arrived at the house at The Avenue in Pontycymer, Bridgend, at 6.35am.
Ms Bunton told the court in a statement that it had been difficult to open the baby’s airways due to what appeared to be early rigor mortis in Mason’s jaw, reported Wales Online.
Mason was taken to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend where resuscitation attempts briefly continued before he was pronounced dead at 7.10am.
The court heard how the young couple had always been careful when often sleeping with Mason.
The couple would make sure that there were no pillows near him, he was on his back, and that any quilts or other materials were kept completely away from his face.
Mr Sage told the court that Mason was the couple’s first child and was “loved so much”. He said: “I loved that time we had in bed. He was our life.”
Grandmother Jacqueline Sage added: “He was developing really well. He was a happy, well-loved baby.”
Recalling the day Mason died Mr Sage remembered: “It was brutal. The police came in all day and were looking through the house. We couldn’t come back to the house until 5pm in the evening. “They were respectful about it but at the time I felt angry they were here. Now looking back I know the police were just being professional because at the time a lot of young children seemed to be being neglected or killed by parents even near here.
“So I think the hospital staff who dealt with me were thinking: ‘Not another one.’ The hospital staff said in a way it’s nice to have this cause because you can see no harm came to Mason and how much we cared for Mason.”
Pathologist Dr Stephen Leadbetter told the inquest he found no sign of illness or injury externally on Mason’s body. There was no evidence or suggestion that the parents had done anything wrong prior to Mason’s death, contributing to Dr Leadbeatter’s view and the coroner’s conclusion.
After the hearing Mr Sage told WalesOnline he now wouldn’t ever risk sleeping with his daughter Evie, who is seven months old.
However, Mr Sage said the couple still feel as though their questions haven’t been answered.
He added: “We waited for two years and it dragged on and basically we’ve got no answers and we will never know what really caused Mason’s death. We were obviously hoping for a cause.
“There will always be a hole in our lives now but Evie has arrived and she’s given us so much comfort. She keeps us busy. We wouldn’t change her for the world. I’m speaking about it openly because it could happen to anyone and we want to explain what happened to Mason because we don’t want anyone going through what we have.”
