Mum wakes to find five-year-old daughter dead beside her
With heavy hearts, we announce the passing. When you find out who she is, you will cry… Little Lila Marsland, just weeks away from turning six, was found lifeless beside her mother, Rachel, one heartbreaking morning.
Rachel, 36, had been sleeping beside her daughter when she woke up to a horrifying discovery—Lila wasn’t breathing. She immediately called for help, but paramedics told her it was already too late. The little girl had been gone for several hours before anyone arrived.
“I woke up and she was dead next to me,” Rachel shared in shock. “I rang for an ambulance, but there was nothing they could do.”
Emergency crews performed CPR and arrived within minutes, but sadly, nothing could bring Lila back. “It’s horrendous. I still can’t believe it’s happened,” her mom said.
Lila was a cheerful little girl who filled every room with joy. “She was kind to everyone,” Rachel said. “At school, she would hug all the teachers. It would take her half an hour just to say goodbye.”
She attended Flowery Field Primary School in Hyde, where she was loved deeply by teachers and classmates. With her bright red hair and bubbly personality, she made friends everywhere she went.
“She was the nicest child ever,” Rachel said with tears in her eyes. “She had so many friends and just made everyone around her smile.”
What’s most heartbreaking is that the family still doesn’t know what caused Lila’s death. “Because we don’t have answers, I don’t feel like we can even start to grieve,” Rachel admitted. “We haven’t even been told how she died.”
Her funeral was held one month later, and the entire school community came to say goodbye.
“It was a beautiful send-off,” her mother said. “We had a horse and carriage. The church was packed with her classmates and teachers. It was the perfect day to honor her.”
Lila passed away on December 28, 2023. In October 2024, an inquest into her sudden death was opened at Stockport Coroners Court. Shocking revelations came to light during the early hearing.
It was revealed that key medical records from the weeks before Lila died had gone missing.
“There’s no entry for her assessment on October 8,” the court heard. Other entries showed that Lila had been prescribed paracetamol, yet she never received it. That suggested someone senior had seen her, but no written records of that assessment were available.
The Area Coroner, Chris Morris, said the missing notes were a “serious matter” and ordered that the originals be found.
“We believe the court was given a full copy, but the original documents must be located,” he insisted.
Given the complexity of the case, the coroner also ruled that a jury would be involved, and eight days have been set aside for the inquest—an unusually long time for such proceedings.
The heartbreaking loss of little Lila has left a hole in the hearts of all who knew her. Her mother and family are still waiting for the truth.
Please share this story with your friends and loved ones to keep her memory alive.
