‘Five years on and we don’t know what killed our daughter’ say grieving parents as inquest postponed

Bonnie Marsh, four, died in a hospital in Norwich after a series of medical visits, her parents are frustrated with the inquest into her death as they continue to wait for answers

The heartbroken mum of a four year old girl who tragically died from an unexplained illness has voiced her anguish as postponements to an inquest mean she must endure a four-and-a-half year wait for answers.

Lauren Marsh, 33, has endured an agonising wait following investigations and examinations into the death of her little girl Bonnie. Bonnie, described as ‘cheeky’, became unwell and passed away in December 2021 after two separate hospital visits due to vomiting and fainting.

The young girl, who had just begun school, collapsed on her third visit and could not be saved at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital (NandN).

The official inquest into Bonnie’s death was originally planned for July 2025 – but it was delayed until October due to witness unavailability. However, bereaved parents Lauren and Liam, also 33, now face an extra six-month wait for answers into their little girl’s puzzling death following another postponement.

A devastated 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.

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“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 it was delayed due to the unavailability of witnesses. A new date was set for October this year – however, Lauren was ‘disgusted’ to discover this week that they now face a further six-month delay until April 2026.

Lauren alleges that the reason given was ‘holiday’ booked by staff who had worked 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 knowledge.

On December 14, Bonnie had gone to school as usual, but when Lauren picked her up, she noticed Bonnie’s eyes were slightly swollen and she appeared to have a cold. Lauren decided to keep Bonnie off school the next day and on December 16, the young girl passed out in the bathroom after being sick.

Her concerned parents called an ambulance and were told by paramedics that her observations were fine and she didn’t need to go to the hospital. However, Lauren, from Attleborough, Norfolk, insisted she be taken as Bonnie, who was previously fit and healthy, was still vomiting and showing signs of lethargy.

The following day, Bonnie was taken again to the NandN Hospital by her father Liam as she continued to vomit. She was sent home and on December 18, Lauren rang the Children’s Assessment Unit as Bonnie’s condition had not improved.

Lauren was instructed to keep Bonnie at home but she recognised something was seriously amiss as her daughter wasn’t moving or speaking. She explained: “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 dramatically and she went into cardiac arrest as Lauren was escorted to a separate room. She recalled: “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 was left without any immediate support following Bonnie’s death, with no offer of assistance to help prepare her daughter’s body or even a chaplain’s visit.

Police weren’t informed of the sudden death either, only contacting Lauren early the following morning.

Initially, Bonnie’s family were told her death was caused by dehydration from norovirus, but a post-mortem examination revealed she had both Covid and flu.

During their first Christmas without their beloved daughter, they received a devastating phone call from NandN informing them that Bonnie had a genetic condition that may have played a role in her death.

The interim death certificate lists Bonnie’s cause of death as an “inborn error of metabolism” – also referred to as inherited metabolic disorders or hereditary metabolic disorders.

Yet Lauren explained that tests conducted at Addenbrookes, Great Ormond Street, and even a specialist clinic in Germany all came back negative.

Adding to their anguish, the family discovered the distressing news before Bonnie’s funeral that her body had been frozen to preserve samples.

Lauren explained: “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.”

In addition to her parents, Bonnie also left behind her devoted brother, Teddy, now 12, and their cherished dog, Coco.

Scores of sympathisers lined the streets during Bonnie’s funeral procession, with 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 now been delayed for an additional six months. The new dates for the formal inquest into Bonnie’s death are from April 13 to April 15, 2026.

Lauren revealed she learned about the news through a relative – and has not been contacted directly. The Norfolk Coroner’s Office stated they could not comment on individual cases.