Hale Gas Fitter Guilty Of Manslaughter After Carbon Monoxide Boat Deaths
A gas fitter from Hale has been found guilty of the manslaughter of his partner and her daughter after they suffered carbon monoxide poisoning on his boat.
36 year old Kelly Webster and 10 year old Lauren Thornton were found dead in the sleeping compartment of the boat moored on Lake Windermere back in 2013.
The three had gone to the Lake District for the Easter bank holiday weekend to celebrate a friend's birthday.
But on the afternoon of April 1 2013, 42 year old Matthew Eteson removed the petrol-driven generator from the deck and used it to power a 1kW fan heater to heat the sleeping quarter.
He knew the carbon monoxide sensors had been disabled on the boat, and copper pipework he had soldered onto the device as a makeshift exhaust system also fell apart, allowing the deadly gas to escape – killing both mother and daughter.
Eteson, who had been sleeping in a separate compartment further away from the generator, survived and found the bodies.
The court heard Eteson fitted the system the day before the tragedy, but his training as a gas fitter meant he was well aware'' of the risk to human life through exposure to carbon monoxide.
Experts said Eteson's design and use of materials for the exhaust system was “immediately dangerous”.
He was today convicted by a jury of manslaughter by gross negligence after a trial at Preston Crown Court.
He was bailed to be sentenced on November 13.
Speaking after the verdict, Det Chief Inspector Furzana Nazir, of Cumbria Police, said:
“This case has obviously taken a long time to go through the courts and I hope today's result is the start of some sort of closure to the family. Our thoughts remain with them.''