As published in the Daily Mail

Millionaire's daughter dies of carbon monoxide poisoning at luxury home

Blocked boiler leaked deadly fumes
By TAHIRA YAQOOB
28th June 2006

The six-year-old daughter of a multi-millionaire City banker died of carbon monoxide poisoning after a faulty boiler at the family's luxury home pumped out lethal levels of toxic fumes.

Elisabeth Giauque died at the £2 million deluxe mansion with 20 times the normal levels of poisonous carbon monoxide in her blood.

Now her devastated parents, banking director Nicolas Giauque and his wife Nathalie, have launched a campaign to highlight the dangers of the hidden lethal gas to other families.

Mr Giauque, 35, said: "Not getting your boiler checked or having carbon monoxide detectors is like driving your car with faulty brakes.

"You may think you can do without the expense but it is a small price to pay for a life. Before Elisabeth died we hardly gave it a second thought.

"We have learned the hard way and our precious daughter has died."

French-born Mr Giauque, who is worth £50 million, is a director of the London hedge fund firm Noonday Capital and has earned himself 86th place in the Sunday Times rich list.

With his comfortable fortune - and with three small children to accommodate - he moved the family into the rented mansion in 2003 in Wimbledon, south London, while waiting for work to complete at their new £3 million home nearby.

The Giauques were shown a valid gas certificate issued within the previous 12 months and were satisfied every care had been taken with the deluxe property, which was rented privately.

But an inquest heard the boiler was not checked again for at least two years - enough time for it to pump out lethal levels of the poisonous gas, which is invisible and does not smell.

The fumes made their way through the cavity walls and floorboards above the boiler room directly into Elisabeth's bedroom.

Collapsed

The schoolgirl, a pupil at The Study prep school, Wimbledon, was found collapsed in her room in February last year and taken to hospital, where she died shortly afterward of carbon monoxide toxicity.

Levels of the gas in her bloodstream should have been between 0 and 0.8mg but instead had shot up to 21.5mg.

Staff at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London, did not spot the astonishingly high levels, at least 20 times what they should have been and diagnosed her with meningitis.

It was only when relatives stayed over in her bedroom two days later and began vomiting that doctors detected carbon monoxide poisoning and made the connection with Elisabeth's death.

The Health and Safety Executive was called in to investigate the death and are now considering whether to prosecute the landlord.

Shop owner Mrs Giauque, 34, who is nearly four months pregnant, wept as she said: "Elisabeth was a beautiful, happy child who was always smiling.

"I cannot believe she has gone. I knew very little about carbon monoxide and the possible dangers before this happened.

"Now we have carbon monoxide detectors in every single room and have gone to the opposite extreme. I just want other families to understand this is a serious danger which could easily be prevented."

Westminster coroner's court heard levels of the gas were so potent, Elisabeth probably died within three hours.

Dr Michael Perkins from the paediatric department at St George's said he diagnosed meningitis because the little girl was unconscious and "there was no flagging up as to the huge reading of carbon monoxide."

But consultant anaesthetist Mark Farrah said: "I think Elisabeth's fate was decided before she arrived at the hospital."

Coroner Paul Knapman gave a narrative verdict and said: "The source of the carbon monoxide poisoning was due to percolation from the gas boiler below the bedroom which was faulty in respect to ventilation and may have been due to inadequate combustion."

Mr and Mrs Giauque now plan to tour schools to tell teachers and schoolchildren about the dangers of not carrying out gas safety checks and demonstrating £30 detectors with ringing alarms available from hardware stores.

For further protection, install a Carbon Monoxide Detector in your home to safeguard you from CO poisoning!