Shoreham Airshow Victim’s Parents Face New Heartbreak After Finding Daughter Dead: ‘Cruel Beyond’

The parents of a victim of the 2015 Shoreham Airshow disaster have been struck by further tragedy after discovering their daughter dead upon returning from visiting their son’s grave, an inquest has revealed.

Caroline and Bob Schilt, who lost their son Jacob in the devastating airshow crash, found their 34-year-old daughter Louise lifeless at their home in West Sussex after visiting Jacob’s resting place in April 2023. In a desperate attempt to save her, Bob, 70, performed CPR, but his efforts were in vain, told The Sun.

The family has now shared their heartbreak as an inquest into Louise’s death begins. Eight years earlier, their son Jacob, then 23, was among the 11 people killed when pilot Andy Hill’s Hawker Hunter jet crashed into the A27 during a failed loop maneuver at the Shoreham Airshow. The plane exploded in a fireball, tragically claiming the life of Jacob, a University of Portsmouth graduate, who had been on his way to play football.

In a moving public tribute to her daughter, Caroline, 64, described the overwhelming pain of losing both of her children. “Our lovely daughter Louise has died suddenly at home yesterday, cruel enough to lose Jacob in the Shoreham aircrash but now to be robbed of our other child seems cruel beyond – the sweetest, kindest girl, we will always love you.”

Louise had been fit and active, a keen horse rider, until she began suffering from an unexplained illness in December 2021. Initially thought to be cancer, her condition was later diagnosed as an enlarged heart. Just two hours before her death, she had been discharged from the hospital after having fluid drained from her chest for the third time, via ,MailOnline reports. Despite her obvious discomfort, Louise was discharged only half an hour after the procedure, with her mother Caroline expressing concern that her daughter “plainly wasn’t alright.” Caroline recalled Louise struggling to get out of the car when they arrived home.

Bob and Caroline also believe Louise’s health deteriorated after she received her second coronavirus vaccine, although the exact cause of her death remains unknown. Bob expressed frustration, saying, “They never did the investigation to find out.”

As the inquest unfolds, the Schilt family faces the unimaginable pain of seeking answers about their daughter’s untimely death, compounding the grief of losing their son in one of the UK’s most tragic airshow disasters.