‘Constantly hungry’ Stoke boy, 4, dies after swallowing fridge magnets

Little Bohuslav Curi, of Fenton, 4, died at Royal Stoke University Hospital in August 2025 after swallowing two fridge magnets which caused fatal bowel perforation and sepsis

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A four-year-old boy described as a “really good eater” who was “constantly hungry,” died after swallowing fridge magnets. Little Bohuslav Curi, from Fenton, passed away at the Royal Stoke University Hospital on Monday, August 25.

His inquest resumed after a post-mortem examination was completed. Pathologist Dr Marta Cohen confirmed that Bohuslav’s death resulted from small bowel perforation, which caused acute peritonitis and sepsis after harmful bacteria spread from his intestines, , reports Stoke on Trent Live.

She told the inquest: “He had suffered a short four-day history of vomiting and abdominal pain. His vomiting became a green-black colour. He became lethargic.

“The clinical suspicion was one of intra-abdominal pathology, with possible bowel perforation. The CT scan showed a metallic body in the bowel, made up of two small objects.

“Internal examination confirmed that a one-by-one centimetre magnet was perforating through the bowel. This was attached to a second magnet. The perforation led to acute peritonitis which led to the sepsis.”

Dr Matthew Harkess, a children’s doctor at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, was working when Bohuslav arrived at A&E.

He outlined the timeline of Bohuslav’s final days to the court during the earlier hearing. Dr Harkess explained: “I gather that his problems began on the Wednesday evening. His mum described this as a simple case of vomiting.

That continued over the course of Thursday, where he also began reporting abdominal pain. His mother gave him paracetamol. She reported on Friday he improved and appeared to be acting like himself. He went to a birthday party.

“Then on Saturday he once again began reporting abdominal pain and vomiting. He opened his bowels on Saturday morning for the final time.

On Sunday morning, he took a definitive deterioration. He was a lot more lethargic and his vomit became a green and black colour. Green indicates bile while black indicates blood. That suggests a digestive problem.

“His mother said that if she touched his abdomen, he would cry out in pain. This progressed over the course of the day until it reached the point where he was lying on his back, rolling his eyes and vomiting while lying down.

By night time, his mother described him as being floppy and unable to stand up by himself. She called the ambulance at that point.”

Speaking on Bohuslav’s time in hospital, Dr Harkess said: “The patient arrived at the emergency department just before 1am. My understanding from the paramedic team is that he attended via ambulance and that within a very short time of his arrival he started deteriorating rapidly.

“He noticeably stopped breathing and was confirmed to be in cardiac arrest at 01.06am.

“The emergency department team commenced cardiopulmonary resuscitation and put out a call which gathers the wider team. The ongoing impression was that the cause was some form of obstruction.

“The patient had a distended abdomen. I gather that when they attempted to insert an endotracheal tube, large amounts of dark green vomitus was present in the airway. This is a kind of bile that is common in instances of obstruction.

“The team continued to attempt resuscitation until around 1.40am, so for just over half an hour. Despite all our attempts, the patient was worsening and we entered a futile situation. We decided continued attempts were not in the best interest of the patient and ceased.”

Coroner Daniel Howe concurred with the findings of Dr Cohen’s post-mortem report, concluding that Bohuslav tragically died from complications after ingesting fridge magnets.

Mr Howe stated: “Bohuslav Curi was a four-year-old boy living with his parents and grandparents. He was described as a cheerful and active child. He did have hearing loss and some developmental delay.

“Despite these challenges, he was generally fit and well. He was described as a good eater – sometimes seeming to be constantly hungry.

“On August 20, Bohuslav began to feel unwell. He vomited, which his parents believed was caused by overeating. Medical experts suspected he had a perforation. This caused an acute deterioration, leading to his passing.

“The post-mortem examination confirmed this perforation. Objects were recovered and identified by Bohuslav’s parents as fridge magnets that were used at their home address. Although Bohuslav was not known to put foreign objects into his mouth, I am satisfied that he did eat this magnet at an unknown time.

“I find that Bohuslav died as a complication as a result of eating these magnets, which caused a perforation, leading to acute peritonitis and sepsis.”