INQUEST HEARS GIRL, 5, DROWNED IN BATH

A YOUNG girl drowned in a bath at her family home last year after being left unattended for a few minutes while her mother responded to crying from her son who was playing in their garden.

- BY SEAN MCCARTHAIGH

Paula Baxanean, five, from Taylor's Lane, Rathfarnham, Dublin, was pronounced dead at Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin on May 19, 2024, where she had been rushed by ambulance after being found unresponsive in the bath by her mother.

Natalia Baxanean told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court that her daughter had been born with a genetic disorder which had resulted in her delayed development.

Speaking through a Romanian interpreter, Ms Baxanean said Paula had also been diagnosed with epilepsy when she was four months old, was non-verbal and required assistance to walk.

The inquest heard the little girl suffered regular seizures which often required long stays in hospital.

However, Ms Baxanean said everything was normal on May 19 when she was at home with her two children.