On Sunday, December 11th, brothers Samuel and Finlay Butler, their cousin Thomas Stewart, and a fourth kid, Jack Johnson, slipped through the ice into Babbs Mill Lake.
An inquest revealed that four youngsters who died after slipping through the ice of a frozen lake drowned.
The inquiry heard that on Sunday, December 11, brothers Samuel and Finlay Butler, their cousin Thomas Stewart, and a fourth kid, Jack Johnson, fell into Babbs Mill Lake while “playing.”
The four toddlers were all in cardiac arrest when they were taken from the water and rushed to the hospital by rescue teams.
Two of the boys, Jack, age 10, and Thomas, age 11, passed away later that day, while Finlay passed on the next day.
Six-year-old Samuel was sent to the hospital in serious condition but died on December 14, three days later.
On the weekend, hundreds of people gathered for a vigil at an improvised shrine near the crime scene to honor the boys.
On Monday in Birmingham, a preliminary inquest hearing heard that three of the lads were recovered after 22 minutes in the water, while a fourth was extracted from the lake after 31 minutes.
As she started and adjourned the four inquests, Senior Coroner for Birmingham and Solihull Louise Hunt characterized the circumstances as a “devastating tragedy.”
In July, a complete inquest will be held to investigate the “circumstances leading up to the fatalities and the cause of death,” according to Ms. Hunt.
She delivered her concluding remarks to the families of the boys, none of whom were physically present in court and stated: “I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to you all.
Your boys’ deaths are a horrible tragedy, and we cannot grasp the anguish and sorrow you must be experiencing at this time.
“I hope that the inquiry will help you comprehend what transpired, particularly the brave efforts of the emergency services to save the youngsters,” said the coroner.
West Midlands Police Detective Inspector Jim Edmonds, who described how the alarm was initially raised, lauded the subsequent “heroic efforts” of the emergency services in rescuing the lads.
In addition, he informed the inquest that emergency services responded “quickly” after receiving initial complaints.
Following the tragedy, a relative of Jack cautioned children last week to avoid taking chances on open water.
The relative, who requested anonymity, told: “They shouldn’t have been playing on the ice, but children will be children. They did not notice the harm and danger; for them, it was only fun.
“We would hate to see another family go through this; please talk to your children and explain why they shouldn’t take chances on the open ocean.”
In a statement provided by West Midlands Police, the parents of Thomas, Finlay, and Samuel said, “Our family is saddened by the awful circumstances surrounding the loss of our three lovely sons, Tom, Fin, and Sam.”
In a statement, Thomas’ older brother paid tribute to him and his cousin, writing: “Thomas was such a beautiful and vivacious child with a large heart for such a young child. He enjoyed being outside with his friends.
“I shall see you soon, Tom. Big brother will take care of the family.”
He penned the following homage to his cousin Finlay: “Fin, my dinosaur-obsessed friend, was often showing me the new things he created on Minecraft and the new information he learned on the game. Gonna miss you, little man.”
