The case in summary: Caroline and Roger Vigestad Solem lost their one and a half year old son Kasper, suddenly and unexpectedly in November 2022. Mother Caroline found Kasper dead in his own bed. The autopsy report showed that he had pneumonia, but it was not severe enough for him to have died from it. The parents were offered a voluntary death scene investigation, and accepted. The investigation concluded that the parents had done nothing wrong. Stine Sofie’s Foundation demands that a death scene examination be made mandatory for all children who die suddenly and unexpectedly at home. Attorney Frode Sulland is skeptical about this. Despite the grief, Caroline and Roger stay together and hope to become a family of three again. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. We meet mother Caroline Vigestad Solem at home in the house in Asker. With a house and a garden, she and her husband Roger thought, it was a perfect place for little Kasper to grow up. But when he was only a year and a half old, he was taken away from them. Caroline and Roger keep their son Kasper in the hospital. Mamma Caroline says that he was much anticipated. Kasper with mum Caroline and dad Roger. Caroline says that her son was a gentle and calm boy, who loved to play outside in the rain. Little Kasper on his way to kindergarten. Found his son dead in bed On a November day in 2022, Kasper came home from kindergarten. Parents Caroline and Roger were told that he was coughing a little. – They asked us to follow it. Maybe he should be home the next day, says Caroline. Their boy had a fever of 38, but was in good shape. The next day, Kasper slept for a long time. The parents thought he was tired. Caroline says she is doing better now. But as soon as she talks about the day her son died, it becomes difficult. Photo: Nadir Alam / news It was almost eight o’clock, but they hadn’t heard anything from the children’s room on the first floor. They thought that was strange. Caroline went downstairs to see her son. – Then I found him dead in his bed. Tears well up when she talks about it. A little over a year has passed since she and her husband lost their son. According to Oslo University Hospital, around 25 children under the age of 3 die suddenly and unexpectedly every year in Norway. On 8 November 2022, Kasper Vigestad Solem, aged 1.5 years, became one of them. – Maybe it is possible to bring him back to life The parents called 113. It wasn’t long before the house was filled with ambulance workers, doctors and police. – We thought who knows what they will achieve. Maybe it is possible to bring him to life? A couple of hours after Caroline found her son lifeless in bed, they were told that they had stopped resuscitation. The parents hoped for a long time that the doctors would be able to bring Kasper back to life. But after a couple of hours they were told that his life could not be saved. Photo: Nadir Alam / news Kasper had been dead for a long time. He had died early that night, the parents learned. A few minutes after Caroline and Roger received the news of the death, they were questioned by the police. Caroline says they were well looked after. They understood why they had to talk to the police. – But it is of course completely surreal to be told that your child has died, and you are also sitting there and being asked questions by the police. Unanswered questions The parents were also offered a voluntary death scene investigation. Caroline and Roger accepted. – You immediately start looking for answers. If you have done something wrong, she says. The day after Caroline found Kasper dead in his bed, the doctor who performed the autopsy on their son came. – She says that she sees that he is well-born and has no injuries. He is whole and fine. Caroline says that the doctor answered all the questions from the parents with great calmness and patience. The autopsy report came almost a year later. It showed that Kasper had pneumonia. But it wasn’t really powerful enough for him to die from it. Caroline says that the voluntary death scene investigation helped her and her husband Roger to find answers to the incomprehensible. Photo: Nadir Mohammad Alam / Nadir Alam news – The conclusion was that there is a place between respiratory infection and unexplained child death, explains Caroline. After the talk with the parents, the doctor examined the house of the small family, and Kasper’s bedroom. The autopsy report, the interviews and the death scene investigation conclude that the parents had done nothing wrong. It was not anyone’s fault that Kasper died. – Get absolutely necessary answers Caroline says that the survey helped them get answers to the incomprehensible. Stine Sofies Stiftelse launches the report “Children’s accident investigation commission” every year. In this year’s report, the foundation demands that a post-mortem examination be made mandatory for all young children who die suddenly and unexpectedly at home. Line Duesund Svendsen in Stine Sofie’s Foundation. They want the voluntary post-mortem examination to become mandatory when children under the age of 3 die suddenly and unexpectedly. Photo: Christina H. Nieuwlaat / news Legal advisor Line Duesund Svendsen believes that such an investigation is necessary. – Both to secure traces and to uncover any violence, says Svendsen. She adds that the survey can help parents who are in a very difficult situation. – A lot of people get absolutely necessary answers, which make it easier to live with the tragic event of losing a child, says Svendsen. – Unsure of the need Lawyer Frode Sulland usually works as a lawyer. He says he is very involved in legal politics. Sulland is skeptical that death scene investigations will become mandatory. – I am unsure of the need for this. Lawyer Frode Sulland is afraid that a mandatory inquest into the place of death will be a serious intrusion into parents’ privacy. Photo: Nadir Alam / news Almost all parents who agree to the survey are satisfied afterwards. Sulland nevertheless believes that a mandatory scheme can be a serious intrusion into the parents’ privacy. – If you are to be able to do this by force, the parents’ feedback will probably also be different in the few cases where this is not desired. A new attempt Back in the house in Asker, Kasper’s mother proudly displays pictures of him in the album. – He was very much awaited, says mum Caroline. It is just over a year since Caroline and her husband Roger lost their son. Time has helped them both. Photo: Nadir Alam / news He was only allowed to live for a year and a half before he disappeared. – As soon as I talk about it, it’s difficult. But time helps. On 3 February 2023, just over three months after Kasper died, his parents got married. – Everything has been torn apart, but we stick together. They lost their only child, but the hope lives on that the two will become three again. – We hope that it is still possible.
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Sudden and unexpected child death in Norway – 1.5-year-old Kasper died suddenly and unexpectedly – Greater Oslo
