Overview
- Area coroner Peter Sigee concluded that Martina Karos died by suicide and that her eight-year-old daughter, Eleni Edwards, was unlawfully killed after three days of evidence at Bolton Coroners’ Court.
- Both were found unresponsive at their South Radford Street home in Kersal, Salford, on September 23, 2024, after Eleni missed school; emergency services forced entry and paramedics declared them dead at the scene.
- Post-mortem examinations found carbon monoxide toxicity as the cause of death, and the coroner said the incident could not reasonably have been foreseen given Martina’s consistent denial of self-harm or harm to her child.
- Eleni had profound disabilities and was cared for full-time by her mother, who had treated anxiety and depression and reported extreme loneliness despite extensive support including 247 respite care visits over 14 months.
- A child protection plan was in place from January 2024 with a review due the day they died, and subsequent safeguarding reviews issued six recommendations as local services reported procedural changes; no prevention of future deaths report was issued.