Father Finds 4-Year-Old Daughter, Paige Brown, Hanging In Upstairs Bedroom

A family in Hawkinge, Kent is remembering the tragic death of a 4-year-old girl, Paige Brown, who accidentally hung herself with one of her new headbands while copying a cartoon character nine years ago, The Mirror reports.

On January 1, 2008, Paige rushed downstairs to tell her mother, Lorraine, 36, that her purple headband that she got for Christmas was stuck in her hammock. Her mother intended to get something to cut the headband, but she became distracted while preparing the family’s lunch; therefore, Paige reportedly returned to her room.

When Lorraine was finished, she called for Paige to come downstairs to eat, but there was no response. Moments later, Page’s father, Phil, who adopted her in 2007, went upstairs to get his daughter and that’s when he found the girl unconscious, hanging in her room by a headband that became tangled in the hammock.

The 42-year-old stated that “everything went in slow motion,” from that point on. He added that “Paige was hanging by the neck by the hairband which was still suspended by the hammock that was full of teddy bears, her feet were just slightly off the floor.”

He quickly took the child down and placed her on the floor before “screaming as loud as he could” to Paige’s mother to call 911. As the couple waited for emergency medical services to arrive, they did all they could to save Paige’s life to no avail.

Paige was subsequently rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead just shortly after her arrival. “My heart felt like it had been ripped out,” said Lorraine. “I felt completely dead inside, the pain, my god this pain, I feel sick, I want to die too. I need her back, please let me tell her how much I love her and that I’m so sorry.”

Four-year-old girl died after she accidentally hanged herself with headband 'copying cartoon character' https://t.co/TrKO7rdN6c

— Irish Daily Mirror (@IrishMirror) May 14, 2017

Lorraine and Phil, who have two other children named Kailun, 11, and 8-year-old Alexia, stated that it took them a while to come to terms with what happened to their daughter. “Every time we hear a story where a young child has died in an accident it’s like our blood runs cold,” said Phil. “And we think about the family what they are going through. The pain lasts for years and it’s so hard to get out of that downward spiral.”

Paige’s mother recalls viewing her lifeless body after it was released by the local medical examiner’s office. She said she became angry and immediately thought: “Why is she wearing red lipstick? What are those marks all around her hairline on her face? Why are her legs open and pressed to the sides of the coffin? So, I tried to wipe her lipstick off, and then realized to my horror, her lips were stitched together, I am devastated, why have they done this to her?”

Lorraine said she had difficulties dealing with Paige’s death. One of her fears were leaving her daughter alone in the cold darkness. She would often fret over Paige’s casket giving out, fearing that mud would pour over her daughter’s body and she would be eaten by bugs.

“Would she rot?” Lorraine questioned as she thought of what Paige’s body what look like if that happened. “I even had to ask a friend to contact the funeral directors to see how long the caskets would last, and if I could buy her a new one before her one gives way?”

Now, after nine years of coping and getting through Paige’s death together, Lorraine and Phil have opted to go public with her story in an effort to “help other people and give them hope through the grieving process and help them stay together.” Lorraine stated that “ninety-eight percent of people who lose a child split up. If you work as a team and listen to each other, you can try to understand each other’s grief.”

Phil added that he “still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and flashbacks of the horrifying sight of little Paige entangled in the headband.”

The couple is now working on a book, which will disclose harrowing details of the day Paige, who would have turned 14 this coming August, was found hanging in her bedroom.

[Featured Image by Bim/iStock]