Death of boy, 2, who fell in river ruled an accident

The death of a two-year-old boy who fell into a river in Leicester was an accident, a jury has concluded.

Xielo Maruziva fell into the River Soar from Packhorse Bridge in Aylestone Meadows on 18 February 2024.

His body was found at the nature reserve almost four months later, after what Leicester Coroner's Court heard was the biggest water search ever conducted in the UK. Jurors concluded Xielo had fallen into the water accidentally.

Following the conclusion of the inquest, a confrontation took place between members of Xielo's family, in which a jug of water was thrown.

The two sides of the family had been separated in the courtroom due to tensions following Xielo's death.

Members of Xielo's maternal family attempted to approach his paternal side, and were held back by staff members after they threw water across the room.

Summarising the evidence, senior coroner, Prof Catherine Mason, said Xielo was walking ahead of his aunt, Nicole Maruziva, and great-aunt Memory Maruziva, when he "stopped, turned and disappeared from view into the river".

The pair had arranged to take Xielo on a walk and set off from his father's house on the afternoon of 18 February.

Nicole said Xielo was initially carried at the start of the walk due to roadworks on the path and small roads, before being allowed to walk when they entered Aylestone Meadows.

The inquest heard Xielo's aunts took pictures with him in their arms at the beginning of Packhorse bridge but put him down after he started to cry.

She told the court on Packhorse bridge, Xielo was a "bit ahead" of her and Memory, before he turned to his side.

He then took a step to the side and disappeared.

The inquest heard Xielo's father, Bradley Maruziva, quickly arrived on scene and had to be "physically" removed from the river as he searched in vain for his son.

Following Xielo's disappearance, more than 26km (16.1 miles) of waterways were scoured, and more than 60,000 hours of searches were completed.

His body was found by council workers who were clearing debris from a bridge at about 10:00 BST on 6 June 2024.

Giving evidence on Monday, Xielo's aunts said the boy was only "baby steps" ahead of them and within "arm's reach" while on the bridge.

Leicestershire Police said CCTV evidence showed he was 10 metres (32ft) away from the women when he fell into the river.

Concluding the inquest, the jury found that, due to the fading light and the water rising up to the edge of the path, an optical illusion meant that the aunts "could not see the danger".

The court heard the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated the incident.

A safety inspector concluded that, on the balance of probability, the death could have been prevented if signage warning of the risk of flooding, or a fence where Xielo went into the river, had been in place.

Following Xielo's death, Leicester City Council - which does not own the bridge but does manage the wider Aylestone Meadows site - put up signage warning of the risk of flooding, and erected fencing at Packhorse bridge.

Jurors did not mention this evidence in their conclusion.

Concluding the inquest, Mason said: "This is a life that was cut too short.

"It's been a long journey for the family to get the answers they wanted. It's been a difficult journey to get to this stage.

"I hope you feel that through this inquest you now have a voice."

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