Almost four months after Alphonsine Djiako Leuga, 47, called 999 for help, she and her 18-year-old daughter, Loraine Choulla, were found dead in their Nottingham home. Leuga had sickle cell anaemia and was unable to move. Her daughter, who had Down Syndrome and learning disabilities, was entirely dependent on her.
Leuga made the emergency call on February 2, 2024, but no ambulance was sent. Despite giving her name and address, the call was marked as “abandoned,” and the system closed it down. The pair’s bodies were not discovered until May 21, after a neighbor reported that the windows had been open since February.
An inquest revealed that Leuga likely died shortly after the call. Choulla is believed to have survived until February 28, alone in the house after her mother’s passing. Her phone eventually lost charge, cutting off any possibility of communication.
Detective Con Jack Cook stated that Choulla was left alive and alone until her device stopped working. Pathologist Dr. Stuart Hamilton confirmed that while the exact cause of her death was unknown, starvation or dehydration could not be ruled out. Leuga’s cause of death was pneumonia of uncertain cause.
Susan Jevons from East Midlands Ambulance Service admitted the service had received the correct address but failed to dispatch an ambulance due to the call being mistakenly closed. “There was a missed opportunity,” she told the coroner. “An ambulance should have been sent.”
Days before her emergency call, Leuga had been hospitalized for a blood transfusion and was discharged early to care for her daughter. Their tragic story has sparked outrage and questions about emergency response procedures.
Please share this heartbreaking story — it’s a stark reminder of how vital emergency services are, and the devastating consequences when systems fail.
