Baby waits to be buried for 21 years

09 September, 2008, 05:10

For 21 years a British man has refused to bury his son’s body, claiming authorities covered-up the real cause of the child's death. Christopher Blum was 4 months old when he died suddenly.

But now a court has ruled the baby should be buried and have said the father has until September 26 to sign the death certificate. His father Steve believes a contaminated vaccine is to blame for his son's death.

“He had the vaccination at 2.30 pm and by 9.30 pm he was dead. The first results that came out in the first few days came out that he had blood poisoning,” says Steve Blum.

But two weeks later the authorities said the infection got into the baby's blood accidentally in the laboratory.

They classified Christopher as a victim of “cot death” – or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

But Steve refuses to accept this. He believes his son's case is a cover-up because files relating to the case have vanished.

Two sets of back up blood samples have vanished. Two sets of back up blood sample have also gone missing.

“We know that he could not have died for no reason and then still have blood poisoning and indications of liver failure and kidney failure, you know,” insists father.

Most experts refuse to comment on the case: the UK’s leading baby charity has only agreed to give us a general assessment of the problem.

“The investigations and the research do suggest that mistakes or maltreatment by the professionals or by the parents intentional or unintentional probably contributes to a small proportion of the deaths. I don't know, probably 5-10%, nobody knows exactly,” states Joyce Epstein from The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths.

So Steve decided not to bury his son until he gets to the bottom of the case.

Christopher Blum’s body has been stored at a temperature of -8 C since June 1987 in the mortuary. And while his parents never got to see him again, they know that his tiny frame is kept in an adult sized drawer that is rarely opened by anyone – and is simply marked ‘Baby Blum – Deceased.

Steve has even been denied access to Christopher's vital organs for further investigation. He was told bluntly that they were not available. And now, his local council is insisting on a funeral.

“After 21 years we believe that Christopher now needs to be laid to rest. We have followed the correct procedure obtaining the consent of the Registrar General to register the death of Baby Blum,” Enfield Council, in North London, wrote in a statement.

Council officials have told Mr Blum to give his consent to the burial, something which he strongly objects to.

“There is certainly a possibility that in the future we may find causes for cases that at present we can not give a definite cause but that does not mean that these cases should be delayed or that the body should not be buried,” says Dr Neil Sebire, consultant pathologist and a paediatric pathologist with more than 10 years experience.

Steve Blum hopes the body of his son will be finally laid to rest at The Lavender Hill cemetery. A grave and a ceremony were booked and paid for by Steve 21 years ago. The question is, whether the authorities will let him bury his son on his terms.