Death of mute boy, unable to reach help after mom’s death, prompts school rules’ change

The tragic death of a mute boy (4) from London has lead the UK Department of Education to revise its rules regarding emergency contact numbers.

Schools have been told to have more than one emergency contact number for all pupils, to give the them more options to reach someone when a pupil is absent for an unknown reason.

The new rule was prompted by the terrible death of Chadrack Mulo, whose body was found by police in the flat he shared with his mother over two weeks after his mother suffered a fatal epileptic fit.

Chadrack’s mother, Esther Eketi-Mulo

“Chadrack had learning difficulties and when his mother died unexpectedly at home … he did not know how to call for help or feed himself properly,” the coroner said at the post-mortem into his death.

“The likelihood is that Chadrack lived alone in the family home for over a fortnight after his mother’s death.

“He was found a couple of days after his death, with his arms around her body. She was by then very decomposed.”

Chadrack died from malnutrition and dehydration, the coroner found.

The school had tried to contact his mother, but hers was the only contact number they had. Although they visited the flat twice, they were unable to gain access.

The boy was found only after neighbours alerted police about the smell.

The new rules are in line with  the coroner’s recommendation after the post-mortem that the government  consider a nationwide schools’ alert system for when children are unexpectedly absent from classes.

– AFP