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Relatives: Thomas Bonham-Carter is connected to the actress Helena Bonham Carter, left, who is the partner of filmmaker Tim Burton, right A relative of Helena Bonham Carter choked to death on a piece of orange after being left alone at his car home, an inquest heard. Retired musician Thomas Bonham-Carter, 66, was found motionless in the conservatory of the care home two minutes after being handed the fruit by a care assistant. Paramedics later removed a chewed segment from his airway, but were unable to revive him en route to hospital, Westminster Coroner’s Court heard. The younger son of author, farmer and publisher Victor Bonham-Carter, he is a distant relative of actress Helena Bonham Carter and a descendent of former Prime Minister Herbert Asquith. Giving evidence, coroner’s officer Martyn Urquhart said ‘Tom’ Bonham-Carter grew up on a farm near Dulverton, West Somerset, close to Exmoor. He developed a ‘very early love of music’ playing the family’s grand piano and harmonium, before his talents were recognised by a church organist in nearby Brushford. After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, he went on to play for the National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador as a bassoonist for ten years. ‘Unfortunately he suffered from schizophrenia, for which he had taken medication from the age of 16,’ said Mr Urquhart. Mr Bonham-Carter went on to spend 30 years of his adult life staying in residential care homes. He had been living at the eight-bed St Andrew’s care home in Drewstead Road, Streatham, southwest London, for seven years at the time of the choking incident. Giving evidence, home manager Eugene Owusu described him as a ‘very pleasant gentleman, very, very helpful to everybody.’ ‘He set the tables for all meals,’ he said. ‘He also loved his music, and he had his own piano in the home.’ Mr Bonham-Carter, who was born in Marlborough, Wiltshire, on November 28, 1945, had been looking forward to playing in a local church after learning that their organist was retiring, the inquest heard. The incident happened shortly after 9.30pm on May 21 this year, where patients were allowed to sit unsupervised after eating dinner and being given their evening medication. Just two minutes after being given an orange by a member of staff, another resident was heard shouting for help. Care assistant Guy Grimmond said: ‘I immediately ran there, and he looked blue. ‘Food was streaming down the left side of his cheek, and it was a bit like froth coming out of his mouth. He was unresponsive.’ An ambulance crew received a 999 call at 9.39pm, and used forceps to remove a ‘large piece of masticated orange’ from his windpipe after finding him in cardiac arrest. He was rushed to nearby St George’s Hospital but pronounced dead at 10.44pm that day after attempts to resuscitate him failed. A post-mortem report gave the cause of death as upper airway obstruction. His ex-wife, Sylvia Flores nie Bedale, with whom he had a daughter, Stephanie, was the sole family representative present at the hearing. Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox said Mr Bonham-Carter ‘was very stable and clearly had a fulfilled and happy life with his music to draw upon. ‘He unfortunately choked on a piece of orange which obstructed his upper airway, which caused him to suffer respiratory arrest. ‘Clearly there is only one verdict for this court to consider, and that is the verdict of accident.’ She added she was satisfied he had been ‘entirely self-caring and did not require any enhanced supervision.’ This site contains materials from other clearly stated media sources for the purpose of discussion stimulation and content enrichment among our members only. whatsondalian.com does not necessarily endorse their views or the accuracy of their content. For copyright infringement issues please contact The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Sauer Pumps , Linde Pumps, and more. For more , please visit Linde Pumps today!
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