Four-year-old Accidentally Hangs Herself After Bike Helmet Gets Tangled In Tree She Was Climbing

Freya Thorpe, a 4-year old girl, died when she accidentally hanged herself in a tree. She was playing in an area close to her home in Upper Heyford, Bicester when she climbed a tree and her biking helmet got caught on a branch and she was stuck.

Based on the information written on a Go Fund Me page that was set up for her, the tragic incident happened on Sept. 8, 2019. Passers-by found her and paramedics were called at the scene then the girl was brought to the hospital. She lived for more than 24 hours after the accident and although Freya fought hard for her life, she unfortunately passed away.

According to The Daily Mail, a CCTV captured Freya and the footage showed her parking her scooter near a bench. She left and headed to the direction of a tree located under a brick shed.

Oxford coroner Darren Salter ruled her death as an accident. The girl likely slipped as she was climbing the tree then got suspended from the branch. The strap of her helmet tightened around her throat and that apparently choked her.

On Jan. 15, 2020, an inquest was held for Freya’s case at Oxford Coroner's Court. Prior to the start of the hearing, it was said that the statements of seven police officers were heard. Most of the girl’s family members were present in the court and they all heard the coroner’s report that state Freya’s cause of death was hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy due to accidental hanging.

“Freya left her house to play in a fenced grassy area outside her neighbor’s home,” detective constable Bryn Smith said. “Due to the sheer nature of the tree bark, not channeled or grooved as some bark is, it would have been a bit slippery to climb without appropriate footwear. This was nothing more than a child climbing a tree, perhaps losing her footing resulting in her helmet getting stuck in a branch and the helmet straps strangling her.”

The tree has since been cut and destroyed according to the reports. Meanwhile, Freya left her parents and family just 10 days after her twin siblings were born. Her mother, Elise, said that the 4-year-old was a doting older sister to her baby sisters and her dad, Chris, shared that they are totally heartbroken for their daughter’s untimely demise.