Police investigate after care home resident with genetic disorder choked on cupcake
Man, 45, collapsed after eating cake at Sandsground Care Home; post-mortem found brain damage from cardiac arrest following choking
Police have opened an unexplained-death investigation after a 45-year-old resident of a Wiltshire care home choked on a cupcake topped with a marshmallow and later died, authorities said.
Alexander Ballmann, who suffered from Cornelia de Lange syndrome — a rare genetic disorder that can cause swallowing difficulties — collapsed at Sandsground Care Home in Highworth on October 31 last year after eating the cake, according to police and court papers. He was resuscitated by paramedics and taken to hospital but was placed in palliative care and died on November 1.
A forensic post-mortem examination concluded that Mr. Ballmann suffered hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy — brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation — after a cardiac arrest that was resuscitated following choking on food, court documents seen at the opening of an inquest in Salisbury stated. The inquest was adjourned to a later date that has yet to be fixed.
Wiltshire Police confirmed they are treating the death as unexplained and said the care home was cooperating with officers. "The care home involved is actively assisting with the investigation and the staff members directly involved have been spoken to by officers," a police spokesperson said. The force also said Mr. Ballmann's family were being supported by specially trained officers.
A spokesperson for Sandsground Care Home declined to comment, the force said. The inquiry into the incident has been ongoing for nearly 11 months, and details were made public only with the opening of the inquest this week.
A tribute published in a local paper described Mr. Ballmann simply: "To my brother Miss you always Nicola," reflecting the grief of family members now being supported by police liaison officers.
The case highlights risks faced by people with swallowing difficulties, a symptom associated with some genetic conditions including Cornelia de Lange syndrome. Health and social care providers routinely assess residents' ability to swallow and may modify diets or provide assistance to reduce choking risk. Officials have not identified any criminality, and police said their inquiries will continue as they seek to establish the full circumstances of Mr. Ballmann's death.
The coroner's court adjourned the inquest pending the outcome of the police investigation and any further medical or expert reports. No date has been set for its resumption.