Both parents deny responsibility for supervising their son
An inquest into the death of an 11-year-old disabled boy in Lincoln has seen the coroner call for further police action, after it was concluded the child died as a result of parental neglect.
11-year-old Dainton Gittos, who had cerebral palsy, died in January 2021 after police were called to Geneva Avenue in Lincoln, following reports of a boy being found unwell. He was taken to hospital and later died.
A coroner’s inquest into Dainton’s death found that the boy had died as a direct result of parental neglect, as he was left alone in a bath – pointing to the likely cause of death, which was “consistent with drowning”.
Officers arrested a man and a woman on suspicion of murder and manslaughter respectively, but both were later released on police bail and eventually released with no further action following a “prolonged investigation”.
Geneva Avenue in Lincoln. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Assistant coroner Paul Cooper has now asked Lincolnshire Police to review the evidence again and consider further action, almost a year on from the force’s initial decision.
Dainton could not speak or bear his own bodyweight, and the inquest heard how he slid under the water and drowned after his father left the bathroom at their home on Geneva Avenue. Both parents deny responsibility for supervising him.
Social services records were read out during the hearing, finding that Dainton was “registered as a child in need” between 2014 and 2017. Class B drugs were also found at the scene.
Lincolnshire Police told BBC Look North it will now be looking into the case.
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