Iliza Parkinson, eight, died in hospital following a fire in Huddersfield – an inquest concluded mum Danielle Parkinson had taken her own life and unlawfully killed her daughter

Iliza Parkinson, eight, died in hospital following a fire at her home(Image: Yorkshire Live)

There had been “missed opportunities” in the days leading up to a house fire started by a mother which killed her young daughter, an inquest heard.

Danielle Parkinson recorded a haunting 19-minute video and uploaded it to YouTube before taking her and her eight-year-old daughter Iliza’s life in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, in July 2024. A second child survived the blaze.

Following a two-day inquest at Bradford Coroners’ Court, assistant Coroner Caroline Chandler concluded the mum had taken her own life and had unlawfully killed her daughter. The coroner said there had been “missed opportunities” in the days leading up to the tragedy.

Danielle had a history of mental health problems and days before, she had gone to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary’s A&E department because she was feeling suicidal. She was put under the care of mental health services but at no point were the views of her children taken down and at no point were “safeguarding” personnel involved.

Danielle Parkinson took her and her daughter’s lives(Image: Kyanna Edwards)

The inquest heard evidence from Farah Farooq, a psychiatric practitioner who visited Danielle at home on July 29, the final time she saw her. Miss Farooq said Danielle appeared “bright” and had spoken about her plans to find a new job, Yorkshire Live reports.

Earlier that month Danielle had been in respite care which had involved a short break away from her children as she had been struggling to cope. She had discharged herself from the respite home, saying she was missing her children. Just two days before the fire, Danielle had been discharged from the Kirklees Intensive Home Based Service mental health team.

Miss Farooq said Danielle had been having long standing suicidal thoughts and had expressed such thoughts from the age of 13. However, she said Danielle had previously spoken about her children being “protective factors” preventing her from taking her own life.

She said Danielle had spoken about her plans for the summer and her desire to take her children to a theatre to see a Shakespeare play. On discharge from the service, Miss Farooq said Danielle had been grateful of the support and “thanked me for saving her life.”

Balloon and floral tributes were placed outside the property(Image: )

Asked if she ever thought that Danielle would ever harm her children, Miss Farooq said that the children had presented to her as being “well loved” and with a “kind and caring mum who worried about them.” “I had no concerns about her care of the children,” she told the inquest.

The court was told that the mental health trust had commissioned a report into the care of Danielle which had concluded that views and “voices” of her children hadn’t been “captured”. The court was told that the trust was working to make improvements to services in light of Danielle’s case and the results would be reported to the coroner at a later date.

Iliza’s dad, Gary, paid tribute to his daughter in a statement that was read out in court. He said Iliza “always had a smile on her face” and had enjoyed school, and playing with her friends and siblings.

Following the inquest, Iliza’s family released a statement. They said: “Iliza tragically died in a house fire which was deliberately caused by Danielle Parkinson. She (Iliza) was a much loved daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece and cousin. Her loss had a devastating and life-changing impact on her family, particularly her father Gary.

“Gary has spoken of his profound grief and heartbreak he has endured since losing Iliza in such a tragic and senseless manner, a pain that he continues to bear every day.”

Danielle left a heartbreaking final message on her YouTube channel, which was played at the inquest into the deaths. She had described in text on her account living with bipolar disorder and depression. In the video she told her friends and family: “I’m sorry.”

The 19-minute video saw the mum face the camera, saying: “This is the final one and you know what that means. I’ve come to the conclusion that I just can’t do it. I want to die who I am, a broken lost soul… I just feel like in my head I know what I have got to do… I just don’t see any other way out of this because every day that I am here I’m suffering more and more and more, smoking until I can’t possibly smoke any more and trying to numb myself to the point where I don’t want to feel anything.”