ONE of the three adults supposedly supervising Nicole Sanders, and other children, when she drowned in Ducklington Lake told a court he had been smoking cannabis.
James Hathaway’s confession drew gasps from members of 13-year-old Nicole’s family at an inquest into her death at Oxford Coroner’s Court on Tuesday afternoon.
The teenager was at the lake on July 18 last year with her younger sister, her neighbour, the woman’s sons and two other neighbours, when she, her sister and one of the boys got into difficulties in the water. Nicole was said to have slipped on a rock and fallen into deep water in the flooded gravel pit.
All three adults, who were near the bank or in the water, went to the children’s aid but got into difficulties themselves.
READ MORE: Teenager dies in lake tragedy
Nicole’s body was recovered from the water by firefighters at 3.05pm, within quarter of an hour of their arrival at the scene. Despite the efforts of medics, the teenager was pronounced dead at the John Radcliffe Hospital shortly before 5pm.
Giving evidence via phone on Tuesday, Mr Hathaway said he and Jenny Demmen were smoking cannabis before the incident unfolded. He told the court under oath: “When we were at the lake we were all out of the water. Joe [McAnulty] was stood on my righthand side. Jenny [Demmen] had her back to the lake because she said if [Nicole’s sister] or Nicole saw her [smoking cannabis] and told their mum Amanda would go mad.”
Jenny Demmen says she didn't smoke any cannabis that day.
He denied stepping on Nicole in the struggle to get out the water, claimed he’d not been told the girls were not good swimmers, denied telling others he had been a lifeguard and suggested that the emergency services were not called ‘straight away’ when Nicole went under the water.
READ MORE: Petition to close Ducklington Lake after teenager's death
His account was questioned by Nicole’s mother, Amanda Holmes, who said she knew ‘without a doubt’ that her neighbour Jenny did not smoke cannabis and asked why as a ‘responsible adult’ he had got in the water if he couldn’t swim and had taken drugs.
She said: “You didn’t want to be responsible for their [the children’s] lives you knowingly got into the water, panicked and my daughter didn’t get out.”
Ms Demmen said she’d not seen ‘no swimming’ signs at the lake, while the third adult, Mr McAnulty said the life buoy was missing from its stand when he went to retrieve it.
The inquest heard that, following the tragedy, a new life buoy had been installed by Witney Town Council near the scene, new ‘no swimming’ signs installed and weekly checks were now performed.
Senior coroner Darren Salter recorded a narrative conclusion, having decided that a conclusion of accidental death would not be appropriate.
Just minutes earlier, Nicole’s mum said: “This was not accidental.” She later added: “I believe if Jamie [Hathaway] wasn’t there my daughter would have come home. She would have.” The coroner cautioned her after Ms Holmes said: “All you can deal with is what works for you guys. This is disgraceful. She’s a 13-year-old child.”
After hearing that the coroner planned to record a narrative verdict, Ms Holmes suggested that unexplained would be a better conclusion: “You’re meant to move on. How can I move on when I don’t know what happened?” Another family member added: “Three people are responsible for her death. Three people should be in prison.”
In an emotionally charged inquest, Nicole’s father, Joe Middleton, left the courtroom in frustration. Another family member left later, during the questioning of one of the adults present at the scene.
Earlier, the inquest heard that Jenny Demmen, a neighbour of Nicole’s parents in Windrush Close, Witney, on July 17 had invited the girls to join them at Ducklington Lake the following day.
Nicole and her sister were told by their parents not to go into the water beyond waist height. As a result, they did not take swimming aids with them.
In a statement, she was described by her mother as a happy, funny and creative child who enjoyed drawing and was a keen seamstress. Nicole ‘enjoyed life and had an amazing sense of humour’, Amanda Holmes said. The teenager was ‘not a risk taker’ and ‘never acted on impulse’.
Detective Constable Ruth Ivins confirmed that the case did not meet the threshold for charges of gross negligence manslaughter to be brought, following questions from the family.
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