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Daily Dazzling Dawn can today reveal the remarkable progress of "miracle baby" Posie, now a thriving toddler, following an inquest that delivered a narrative verdict into the tragic death of her mother, Emma Atkinson.
Assistant Coroner Naomi McLaughlin ruled a narrative verdict in the death of 38-year-old Emma Atkinson, who fell from the ninth-floor window of her father's flat at Shakespeare Towers in Leeds on October 22, 2024 . The coroner determined Ms Atkinson had deliberately "propelled herself out of the window" but stated she "could not ascertain if she intended to end her own life that day" .
The mother-of-five had visited her father David Atkinson shortly after 10am that morning. In a statement read to Wakefield Coroner's Court, Mr Atkinson recalled how his daughter had asked for a cigarette, opened the window until it was horizontal, and moments later said "I'm off" before he witnessed her "feet going out of the window" .
The court heard Ms Atkinson had been 33 weeks pregnant and had attended her own gender-reveal party just two days before the tragedy . Her family maintained she was "excited" about having a girl and had appeared "happy" and "doing well" .
Despite suffering "catastrophic and unsurvivable injuries", doctors at Leeds General Infirmary successfully delivered Ms Atkinson's unborn daughter, later named Posie, within half an hour of the fall .
Now thriving under the care of her aunt Lauren Mitchell, the girl has defied medical expectations. "Posie is the most beautiful little girl. She is a happy, healthy, thriving little girl," Lauren told a journalist. "Thankfully there have been no effects from the fall, which is pretty amazing" .
After a month in intensive care, Posie was initially released to the temporary care of her natural father's family. However, with Michael Swanson's lifestyle deemed "too chaotic" to raise her, his sister Lauren stepped forward . "I never had any doubts at all about being the person responsible for raising her," Lauren said. "I just wanted to be able to bring love and happiness and a stable future for her" .
Assistant Coroner McLaughlin noted that Ms Atkinson's father had told police that minutes before her death, she had expressed worry about missing a court hearing for shoplifting and feared going to prison . However, the coroner ultimately could not ascertain her intentions that day.
The inquest also heard Ms Atkinson had been diagnosed with an emotionally unstable personality disorder, had self-harmed, and had previously attempted to take her own life on two occasions in 2015 and 2017 . She was also known to use cocaine.
Lauren Mitchell, who is raising Posie alongside her own six-year-old daughter Lealea, said: "When Emma fell from the tower block it was so devastating for the whole family. While everyone was coming to terms with her death, we were at the same time thinking, 'What will happen to Posie?'"
"The solution to that was always going to be found within the family, there was never any consideration given to adoption outside the family," she added .
Lauren has pledged to tell Posie about her mother when she is old enough. "Even now I point out pictures of Emma and say to Posie, 'That's your mummy,'" she explained. "The day will come though when she has lots of questions and I'm prepared for that, I will tell her all about her mum and that she was a loved little girl" .
For confidential support, contact Samaritans on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.
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