A HEARTBROKEN dad whose daughter died after becoming trapped in an ottoman bed previously lost his son in a moped accident.
Robert Casson, 66, lost his eldest daughter Helen Davey, 39, after she suffocated while stuck between the mattress and bed base.
The beautician and mum-of-two was found by her own teenage daughter Elizabeth, 19, at their home in Seaham, Co Durham, in June.
Robert reportedly told friends there are “no words that cover” losing Helen after son Luke Casson died 13 years ago, aged 16, reports MailOnline.
Luke died of a brain injury after hitting a telegraph pole with his moped in Hutton Henry in 2011.
Helen was laid to rest next to her brother’s ashes at Station Town cemetery.
Ahead of his daughter’s funeral over the summer, Robert wrote on Facebook: “Our hearts are broken as we bury our two beloved kids today.
“Helen only 39 died 6 June 2024. Luke was 16 and died 21 May 2011.
“Both lost in tragic accidents and will be missed our whole lives.
“Our love and thanks go out to everyone who has contacted us with messages, cards and flowers.
“There are no words that cover it.”
Helen, who was also mum to George, 11, suffocated on June 7.
An inquest into her death heard the ottoman had defective gas pistons, responsible for raising the mattress.
Jeremy Chipperfield, senior coroner for Durham and Darlington, has warned about a risk of future deaths unless action is taken.
In his post-inquest report, Mr Chipperfield said: “The deceased was leaning over the storage area of an Ottoman-styled ‘gas-lift bed’ when the mattress platform descended unexpectedly, trapping her neck against the upper surface of the side panel of the bed’s base.
“Unable to free herself, she died of positional asphyxia.”
He said it was his responsibility to warn the Office for Product Standards at the Department for Business and Trade about “the existence and use of gas piston bed mechanisms whose failure presents risk to life”.
Elizabeth, known as Betty, wrote a heart-wrenching tribute on Facebook which read: “No words would ever describe how we are feeling.
“I can’t even begin to process that it’s real and you’re not just going to walk through the door.
“Mine and George’s best friend from day one, I will always wish we had more time together and that you were still by our side supporting us through everything as always.
“I hope you know how much I love you and that I’d do anything for one more cuddle. Until we meet again my angel.”
Betty has not returned to the home since the tragedy, a neighbour told the Daily Mail.
Helen was a successful businesswoman and ran her own aesthetician company called All Dolled Up.
Luke had passed his provisional test just three weeks before his death on May 21, 2011.
He swerved out of the way of an oncoming Range Rover but lost control and fell from the bike.
Robert told his inquest in May 2013 his son was “extremely popular”.
“Even more so than we realised before his untimely death.
“He was caring and true and had many friends, both male and female, and I struggled to find a photograph where he wasn’t in the arms of a young lady.”
Have you been the victim of an ottoman bed accident? Email ryan.merrifield@thesun.co.uk
