Girl, seven, died after bout of chicken pox

An inquest heard he had put her to bed on December 27 last year and checked on her several times in the night before discovering her unresponsive and not breathing at 3am.

She was taken to hospital by ambulance, but later died. At the inquest yesterday, pathologist Dr Nikola Ostojic said he was unable to provide a cause of Nicole's death, but said it was a 'possibility' she had suffered a fatal epileptic fit. An epileptic fit, he said, did not leave a trace of evidence in the body and could have been triggered by chicken pox or a cyst he found on her brain.

Worcestershire deputy coroner Marguerite Elcock concluded Nicole died of unknown natural causes.

Following the hearing, Mr Murphy, aged 29, of The Spinney in Stourport, said he had been shocked to discover the possible cause of his daughter's death.

He said : "We need more awareness of chicken pox. I had no idea it could cause the shut-down of organs, I thought the worst thing was it'll scar if you scratch them."

Mr Murphy sobbed during the hearing at Stourport Coroners' Court as Mrs Elcock told how Nicole had been struck down by chicken pox in December, along with her sister Jenna, two, and brother Preston, five.

But unlike her siblings, Nicole, who attended Burlish Park Primary School, suffered a severe bout of the illness and was heard to have heavy breathing problems by her father who checked on her through the night.

Mr Murphy, aged 29, said after the inquest that the little girl's death had left him, his partner Claire Rush, also 29 and a care worker, and two children devastated.

He said: "Preston is missing her massively. The children have become clingy, they try and cheer me up over it, but it's so hard for all of us."

He added: "Nicole had been suffering quite badly and over the night I kept hearing heavy breathing on the monitor and checking she was okay.

"She seemed to be just sleeping, but on the last time I came back to check I found she wasn't breathing. We did what we could."

Mrs Elcock told the hearing that Mr Murphy had done everything he could to get her help.

She said: "Things came to a head when she stopped breathing and you had to call an ambulance. That happened quickly – from being a generally poorly child with chicken pox to stopping breathing. You did absolutely everything you could to get some help, but unfortunately, having been taken to hospital, Nicole could not be saved."