London, CNN — Helen Davey, who lived in northeastern England and ran a beauty salon, died in June as she “was leaning over the storage area of an Ottoman-styled ‘gas-lift’ bed,” coroner Jeremy Chipperfield said in his report, released last week.
Ottoman beds have a base that can be raised – usually using gas-lift hydraulics – to access a storage space underneath.
They are a popular choice for householders wanting to keep bedding or unseasonal clothes out of sight.
The mattress platform on Davey’s bed fell unexpectedly, “trapping her neck against the upper surface of the side panel of the bed’s base,” Chipperfield explained.
“Unable to free herself, she died of positional asphyxia. One of the two gas-lift pistons was defective.”
Davey was found by her daughter, Elizabeth, according to a statement read in court and reported by local paper The Northern Echo.
“I went upstairs, my mam’s bedroom door was wide open, and I saw her lying on her back with her head under the bed,” Elizabeth said in court.
“Her legs were bent as if she was trying to get up … ”
