Mum Akira Garton demands inquest into death of twins Tarrow and Ophelia in NSW fire

“Opening the door was opening the door to a nightmare. My first thought was, “where are my children?” He then told me. I started screaming.”

It was a sunny Sunday morning when Akira Garton heard footsteps on the stairs at the front of her house, and a hurried knock on the door.

The time was 8.40am and the Byron Bay mum wasn’t expecting anyone.

Opening the door, she was faced with her worst nightmare.

The father of her twin girls, Edward Wright, was standing there, alone.

Their two four-year-olds, Tarrow and Ophelia, had stayed with him the night before.

“My first thought was, 'where are my children, and why are they not with him', everything started to spin," the grieving mum recalls to Kidspot.

“He then told me.”

The former couple's cheeky and “full of beans” twin girls had died from smoke inhalation after a fire broke out in the room where they were sleeping at a northern NSW commune.

“I started screaming. I screamed so loud neighbours started coming out,” Garton says. 

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Akira Garton with her twin girls Tarrow and Ophelia. Source: Supplied.

Dad checked on girls regularly

It’s been a year and a half since the devastating accident and Garton is speaking out now to renew calls for a coronial inquest into her girls’ deaths.

It comes after Coroner Karen Stafford declared earlier this year that the twins' death was an accident. No charges were ever laid in relation to the girls' deaths.

Ms Stafford’s reasons for declining to hold an inquest, ­which Garton received in February, state that Ophelia and Tarrow were spending the night with their dad at a multi-occupancy commune in Goonengerry where his girlfriend, Hannah Forrester, lives when the tragedy occurred.

She said that about 8.30pm-9pm on Saturday November 6, 2021, Wright took the twins to sleep in the house in a double bed.

Their father, and his partner, checked on them every half an hour, as he and other adults gathered around a bonfire about 50m away from the house. 

In the early hours of Sunday morning, Forrester lit a candle on top of a piano metres from where the girls were sleeping.

The coroner said the pair left the twins to go back to the party to say goodnight to the others, but stayed longer than expected.

At about 4am Forrester went to check on the girls and found the house “filled with thick smoke”, she was unable to reach the girls and ran out screaming for help.

Wright ran inside, grabbed the girls and started CPR.

Emergency services were called to the property just after 4am. NSW Ambulance paramedics attempted to save the sisters but they were tragically unable to be revived.

RELATED: Mum of 4yo twin girls who died in fire breaks silence

Akira Garton and her twins Tarrow and Ophelia when they were younger. Source: Supplied.

Smoke alarm "had no batter"

Investigators from the police Arson Squad and Crime Scene, as well as from NSW Fire and Rescue, discovered the candle burning had caused a picture hanging on the wall to fall, the coroner said.

“It is likely that the fire began when the painting knocked over the candle. Part of the burning picture frame fell behind the piano. This caused a second seat of fire," Ms Stafford said.

Another part of the painting fell onto the piano, igniting the stool, causing a wicker basket of toys to catch fire.

“The smoke alarm complied with Australian Standards in terms of the product and its installation," the coroner said.

"However, as the cover had been opened, and as it had no battery inside, the power source had been disconnected rendering the alarm inoperable.”

RELATED: 10 fire safety tips to keep your family safe at home

Tarrow and Ophelia died in a NSW house fire in 2021. Source: Supplied.

Deaths were a result of "accidental fire"

A spokesman for the NSW Coroners Court told Kidspot the “coroner was satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances and their deaths were as a result of an accidental fire”, when ruling on the deaths in January.

“The State Coroner agrees with the decision of the local Coroner, and declined to re-open the matters as there is not sufficient reason for an inquest to be held.”

After hearing the coroner's decision, Garton was devastated. She is now pushing for the NSW Attorney General Michael Daley to intervene.

"An inquest is the minimum, my two girls deserve"

Describing her twins, their mother remembers them playing together for hours in their own imaginary worlds.

“Ophelia was like the wise old soul of the two, she came out first and seemed like she was the bigger sister of the two. She was caring, cuddly, whimsical, and loved to chuckle,” Garton says.

“Tarrow was the creative, more sensitive soul, although she was bold and had a fearless nature from early on.

“Both of them were so excited to start school, meet new friends and were dreaming of what it would be like to have sleepovers and wear school uniforms every day."

Garton hopes an inquest will prevent future tragedies in the area and give her the answers she desperately wants.

She set up an online petition calling for an inquest, which has attracted 22,500 signatures in six weeks.

In sharing her story, she hopes it serves as a warning to other parents about never leaving children with open flames.

“More can be done to prevent future tragedies," she says. 

"An inquest is the absolute minimum, my two beautiful little girls deserve."

“Our belief is the Coroner undertook a comprehensive investigation"

The father of Ophelia and Tarrow told News Corp in a statement that he remains “absolutely shattered about the unspeakable tragic loss of our gorgeous girls”.

“The only consolation I have is my vivid memories of their laughter, fierce intellects, insatiable curiosity, strong wills, and their unbreakable bond,” he says.

“Our firm belief is that the Coroner undertook a comprehensive and impartial investigation into their deaths with expert input from the police and medical professionals.”

"We are forever grateful for the immense ongoing support from our community, as well as from the first responders, who were extremely professional and showed enormous empathy and compassion."

Kidspot has contacted Mr Daley for comment. 

Originally published as Mum Akira Garton demands inquest into death of twins Tarrow and Ophelia in NSW fire