Thursday, September 10th, 2026
FAI Re Death of David Howsego [2026] FAI 44
Sheriff SG Collins KC has issued his determination following a Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death of seven-week-old David Howsego, with Compass Advocate Adam Black appearing on behalf of David's mother.
David died on 7 June 2019. A criminal investigation followed his death, but no prosecution arose from it. The inquiry, held under the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016, focused principally on establishing the cause of his death, with evidence heard from the two consultant pathologists who had conducted the post-mortem examination. The post-mortem had identified no clinical or pathological signs establishing a specific cause of death.
The pathology evidence was that Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy and accidental asphyxiation associated with co-sleeping were equally possible, but it was not possible to determine which was more probable.
In considering whether a cause of death could nevertheless be established, Sheriff Collins considered a number of previous Fatal Accident Inquiry determinations in which the precise cause of death had been unascertained. He distinguished those cases on the basis that there had been sufficient other evidence to establish that the deaths were not from natural causes. In David's case, the evidence did not allow the court to make such a finding.
Sheriff Collins determined that the cause of David's death could not be ascertained. No reasonable precautions which might realistically have avoided the death were identified, there were no defects in any system of working which contributed to the death, and no recommendations were made.
The determination can be found here.
