Man was not informed of wife's fears she would hurt their child, inquest told

Seán McCárthaigh

A man whose wife and baby son died in tragic circumstances three years ago has told an inquest that he was never informed by medical staff who looked after them that she had felt she might harm herself or her child.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard medical notes had recorded that Nicola Keane (34) had told doctors at Children’s Health Ireland in Crumlin just three months before her death that she was worried she “might do something” because of the regular crying of her baby boy.

Medical records showed Ms Keane had told a psychologist at the hospital that she had damaged her son who was “botched” but nobody would believe her and nothing could be done.

The inquest heard evidence that Ms Keane’s body was found on Lower Road, Strawberry Beds, Co Dublin after CCTV footage had captured her jumping off the Westlink bridge over the M50 motorway in the early hours of October 22nd, 2020.

When gardaí called to the couple’s home at Shackleton Way, Lucan, Co Dublin, to alert her husband, Darren Coleman, about his wife’s death, he found their seven-month-old baby Henry in an unresponsive state in an upstairs bedroom of the house.

Mr Coleman told the inquest on Monday that it “would scare me” if he had known that his wife had told doctors that she might harm their son.

He said he would never have considered returning to his teaching job if he had made admissions of that kind.

Mr Coleman said Ms Keane had never said anything to him about the possibility of harming herself or their baby.

He also highlighted how he had never been contacted by any medical staff who treated his wife for her mental health issues.

“At no stage was I ever asked for my opinion or asked if I was OK,” Mr Coleman remarked.

He also claimed he was never given any advice and had to research postnatal depression for himself on the internet.

However, Mr Coleman stressed that his wife “wanted to get better”.

Sweethearts

He described how he and his wife were teenage sweethearts who met in secondary school in Ballina, Co Mayo before they married in 2014.

The couple subsequently moved to Dublin, where they bought a house in Lucan.

Ms Keane worked as a paediatric nurse in CHI Crumlin and Mr Coleman had a job as a primary school teacher.

Mr Coleman said his son’s birth in February 2020 had been difficult, explaining his wife had required an emergency caesarean section and a five-day stay in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

Mr Coleman said after they had been home for a while, their baby had become unsettled and had difficulty sleeping.

When Henry was admitted to CHI Crumlin because of concern over his constant irritability, Mr Coleman said they were informed that it was “just a phase” and he would settle down.

However, he said his wife felt she had no bond with their son and believed he would not get better and grow up to be an unsettled child.

The inquest heard that Ms Keane started seeing doctors in relation to her mental health at both CHI Crumlin and Cherry Orchard Hospital in Ballyfermot in July 2020.

Mr Coleman said he had arranged a routine with his wife for looking after their son when he was to return to school the following month.

He recalled that Henry had become more settled, while his wife had seemed “a lot happier but not in the way she had been before”.

AdvertisementI knew he was dead, I could feel it.

In response to questions from the coroner, Cróna Gallagher, Mr Coleman said everything on the evening of October 21st, 2022, had been fine and normal until Henry had become unsettled and started crying, with his wife taking the baby into a spare room.

Mr Coleman said he offered to stay up with the baby, but she insisted on doing it, “but in a nice, not forced way”.

He said the next thing he remembered was the doorbell ringing and seeing blue flashing lights outside his house.

Mr Coleman said he immediately went to find his son after a garda informed him that they had found his wife’s car.

He described finding the baby lying on his back on top of blankets on a bed, noting he was “white with a spot of blood on his nose”.

Mr Coleman said his son was “lifeless and floppy” when he grabbed him.

“I knew he was dead, I could feel it,” he added.

Mr Coleman said he ran downstairs to the sitting room with his son where a garda performed CPR to try to resuscitate him.

The inquest heard the baby was rushed to CHI Crumlin but was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.

Mr Coleman said he then saw a WhatsApp message from his wife on his phone.

The inquest heard evidence that gardaí had established that the text message, which alluded to Ms Keane’s concerns about the challenge of giving their son a life, had originally been written over a month earlier on September 10th, 2020.

Mr Coleman said his wife’s medication had been increased twice, with the last occasion being in early October.

He outlined how he noticed a difference in his wife after that by observing that she was “smiling more and talking more”, as well as getting more sleep and appearing “a little bit more focused”.

He also noted that it was unusual that he fell asleep on his wife’s shoulder after she had brought him ice-cream while he was watching TV earlier on the evening before her death.

Mr Coleman said he never fell asleep like that as he always had lots of energy, while he also had slept through an alarm to wake to feed his son in the middle of the night.

Concern

Nicola's sister, Michelle Keane, said it was good news when both Nicola and their other sister, Siobhan, became pregnant in 2019, shortly after both their parents had died within a short space of time.

Ms Keane said she noticed her sister had become more withdrawn and was “a lot quieter” in the summer of 2020 and was more difficult “to get hold of” in calls and texts.

The witness told the coroner that she believed her sister played down her postnatal depression so that her family would not worry about her.

A consultant paediatrician, Dr Úna Murtagh, gave evidence about herself and other staff at CHI Crumlin becoming increasingly concerned about Ms Keane’s mental health while they were treating her baby.

Dr Murtagh said various tests had established in May 2020 that there was no medical problem with Henry, although he remained irritable and found it difficult to sleep.

He was admitted to CHI Crumlin for a second time on June 30th, 2020, when Ms Keane was very concerned that she was not bonding with her son.

Dr Murtagh said she felt at the time that Ms Keane had a low mood and needed support, while other consultants were also very concerned about her mental health because of her level of “hopelessness”.

However, Dr Murtagh said Ms Keane had denied ever having any intention of harming her baby. “I felt if the baby was fine, she would be fine,” she added.

Dr Murtagh broke down in tears as she recalled that she was subsequently very happy with the baby’s progress in August 2020 and planned to review him three months later.

The inquest heard that doctors at CHI Crumlin had sought an urgent psychiatric review for Ms Keane on the day that they were discharging her son on July 7th, 2020.

Dr Murtagh admitted she noticed a difference in Ms Keane on that date and thought she was also “really sad” but felt “a safety net” had been put in place with the review.

She told the coroner that medical staff would always ask mothers in such situations if there was any risk of them harming their babies.

The inquest heard that Ms Keane had told a psychologist that her son did not like her and pulled away from her, while also wishing that she would not wake up.

“Something is broken that cannot be fixed,” she told one consultant.

Dr Murtagh confirmed that Mr Coleman was advised at the time about leaving his son alone with his wife.

She said Ms Keane’s negative expressions were concerning as they were “so untrue” and were “not the words of a healthy mum anymore”.

The inquest before a jury of six females and one male was adjourned and will resume on Tuesday.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can freephone the Samaritans 24 hours a day for confidential support at i or email i. 

Alternatively, the contact information for a range of mental health supports is available at i. 

In the case of an emergency, or if you or someone you know is at risk of suicide or self-harm, dial 999/112.