Mum and teenage daughter found dead four months after they called for ambulance that never came
An inquest into the deaths of a British mother, who was found dead in her Nottinghamshire home last year alongside her 18-year-old daughter, is continuing this week.
The bodies of Alphonsine Djiako Leuga, 47, and her daughter Loraine Choulla were discovered by police in the town of Radford on 21 May 2024.
Almost four months earlier, on 2 February they'd called for an ambulance that never arrived.
As the official inquest continues this week, a number of unnerving details surrounding the circumstances of the pair's deaths have emerged.
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The tragic news that Leuga had attempted to call 999 for her daughter was confirmed by the Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Coroner’s Service.
As the court heard this week, Leuga - who was battling sickle cell anaemia prior to her death - had contacted the emergency services in February of last year, telling the dispatcher she needed help with her daughter.
Choulla had a series of severe learning difficulties, as well as Down Syndrome. The teenager was, therefore, 'entirely dependent' on her mother, reports claim.
Leuga had told the call handler that, due to her anaemia, she was cold and unable to move, as per The Guardian.
The month prior to making the call, she'd been treated in hospital for a lower respiratory tract infection. She was granted a 'pragmatic discharge' two days later, however, after arguing that she needed to return home to her daughter, the BBC says.
This went against the hospital's wishes for her, with staff urging her to return to the facility the following day.
When she failed to check herself back into hospital in January, attempts were made to contact Leuga, but to no avail.
Weeks later, on 2 February, she'd called an ambulance for medical assistance, giving the dispatcher her address before ending the call.
"Would you send an ambulance? Please come, please," the BBC report she told the call handler.
In court this week, Susan Jevons - head of patient safety at the East Midlands Ambulance Service - claimed that the dispatcher had attempted to call Leuga back after the call ended.
She added that, ultimately, 'the ambulance didn’t go to the address because the emergency medical adviser, thinking it was an abandoned call, closed the call down.
Attendees to this week's hearing also heard that, in the years prior to their tragic deaths, Leuga had made the decision to restrict access to support services, in fear that her daughter would be removed from her care.
She'd also removed Choulla from school in 2022.
Leuga's eldest daughter Elvira Choulla - who moved out of the family home in 2022 - penned a letter that was read out in court this week.
In it, she claimed that whilst her little sister initially 'attended school all the time and loved it', their mother feared she was 'being neglected'.
As such, Leuga 'didn't allow her to go back'.
Elvira also described the 'strained relationship' she and her mother often endured, but noted that Leuga was always 'very patient' with her disabled sister, and nothing but 'loving' towards her.
She revealed that the last time they saw her mother was in November 2023, during which the trio enjoyed a 'lovely meal'.
The eldest child also came by Leuga's property in early 2024, but claimed the house was 'in darkness and there were no signs of life', the BBC report. The gas had also been switched off at the time.
Elvira opted not to report her mother and sister missing after a neighbour reported seeing the pair in February.
Months later, police informed her that they'd been found dead at the property.
At the hearing, pathologist Dr Stuart Hamilton told attendees that the mother-daughter duo could have been dead for 'weeks to months' before being discovered.
He also refused to rule out that Leuga had died the day she called for an ambulance.
The Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Coroner’s Service previously confirmed that the mother had died of 'pneumonia of uncertain cause', whilst the cause of Choulla's death remains 'unascertained'.
Tyla contacted the East Midlands ambulance service for comment.
Rhianna Benson