On this day, 29 December 1842, an inquest was held in the parish of St Mary’s in Leicester on the body of Sarah Ann Cook, eighteen-month-old daughter of John Cook, an excise officer in Duke Street.

On 24 November 1842, John was woken up abruptly by his wife, who told him in a panicked voice that Sarah was very ill and had been vomiting. Sarah's mother described the child as emitting a phosphoric flame, which made her believe Sarah had eaten or sucked on some Lucifer matches, which she had seen her playing with that afternoon.

On the morning of the 24th, John Cook woke up early and placed a box of matches on a chair by his bedside so that he could get a light. He had accidentally left the box on the chair, and when he returned he found the matches had been overturned and the tips on some of them were completely gone.

Sarah Ann had followed her mother upstairs and got into her parents' room, where she was found playing with the matches by her mother. Her mother thought she may have been putting them in her mouth because of the smell, but Sarah didn't seem to have any ill effects until later that night. Mr Denton, a surgeon, was called to the house the following morning. From what he saw and heard, there was no doubt in his mind that Sarah's death was caused by her eating the Lucifer matches. Upon examination, he found the boxes unusual; it appeared that a part of them had been dipped in phosphoric acid.

The official verdict was recorded as “accidental death”.