Could the death of Claire Koukoui have been avoided?
This is the haunting question that her daughter, Sylvie has been asking since April 3.
The late start of relief and an imbroglio on the exact time of the death of this 87-year-old woman raise questions.
“I can't seem to know the truth.
I do not understand what happened, recalls Sylvie Koukoui.
My pain is only the deeper.
In mid-April, she lodged a complaint for non-assistance in danger, leading to the opening of a preliminary investigation by the Créteil prosecutor's office.
On April 2, around 10:30 pm, Sylvie Koukoui tries to reach her mother who lives in the senior residence "Les Essentielles", in Vincennes (Val-de-Marne).
“Not being able to reach her in her studio, I called the reception of the residence.
I was promised to keep me informed ”, indicates this president of a cultural association.
It is then 10.51 pm The minutes go by, agonizing.
“At 11:20 pm, the receptionist finally reminded me, to tell me bluntly, to come back the next day for the body to be lifted.
I was flabbergasted.
I said to him:
But you are announcing the death of my mother to me
!
She chokes.
Her granddaughter feels her pulse
Disaster, she rushes to the residence and warns her daughter, as well as her friend Céline Martin, also deputy mayor in charge of seniors in Vincennes. “My daughter wanted to see her grandmother,” recounts Sylvie Koukoui. Then, she came back down in panic explaining that she had felt a pulse and the heart beating! The young girl immediately alerts the Samu. As for Céline Martin, she recalls the firefighters who, this time, are on the move. It is then past midnight. Despite the resuscitation efforts, the death of Claire Koukoui, following a cardiac arrest, is pronounced at 12:38 am.
Distraught, her daughter is determined to understand what happened during this fatal evening. It immediately seized the “operational litigation” section of the Paris Fire Brigade (BSPP). The results of the internal investigation were communicated to him on May 19. “The help of the BSPP was called for the first time on April 2 at 22:59 by the guard (…) who noticed that your mother was lying on the ground in her room, recalls the brigade. In view of the first information available to him, the operator triggers an emergency means (…). Pursuing the search for additional elements, he guides the babysitter in the care (…). In doing so, the data then provided by the guard indicates to the operator that signs of rigor mortis are already present. In view of these new elements,the call is directed to the Samu so that a doctor will come to see the death of your mother. "However, at that time, nobody comes," Sylvie Koukoui indignantly.
On the side of the management of "Essentials", we assure that the rules have been followed.
“Our employee, who is not a caregiver, respected the protocol, indicates a spokesperson.
She called the fire department before being called back by the emergency services.
We are obviously saddened by this death but everything is mapped out.
"
"In cardiac arrest for a few hours"
The internal investigation of the BSPP also made it possible to confirm the sequence of events. “A second call reached our services on April 3, 2021 at 12:03 am and the new information then communicated indicates to this other operator that emergency intervention seems necessary. On his arrival on the scene, the person in charge of intervention notices the cardiac arrest of your mother and immediately initiates a resuscitation, details the letter addressed to Sylvie Koukoui. (…) Shortly after, the medical team called upon for reinforcement arrived on site; the resuscitation maneuvers are immediately interrupted at the decision of the doctor, who notes hypothermia and signs of stiffness in the body. "According to the BSPP, a faster intervention would not have changed anything:" In view of these physical findings,the doctor thinks your mom has been in cardiac arrest for several hours. "
At the request of Me Julien Bensimhon, Sylvie Koukoui's lawyer, the recordings of the conversations were seized. "There is only the criminal investigation which will shed light on the real circumstances of this death and the possible responsibilities", indicates the penalist.
