Get you up to speed: Nursery worker sentenced for toddler’s death during sleep attempt | News UK
Kimberly Cookson received a sentence of three years and four months at Wolverhampton Crown Court for gross negligence manslaughter after suffocating toddler Noah Sibanda at Fairytales Day Nursery.
Deborah Latewood, the nursery owner, has pleaded guilty to a Health and Safety at Work Act offence due to her negligence regarding the dangerous sleep practices.
Deborah Latewood, owner of Fairytales Day Nursery, is due to be sentenced for a Health and Safety at Work Act offence related to the incident.
What we know so far
A nursery worker has been jailed for three years and four months for the gross negligence manslaughter of a toddler. Kimberly Cookson, 23, was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court after pleading guilty to the charges stemming from an incident involving 14-month-old Noah Sibanda in December 2022 at the now-closed Fairytales Day Nursery in Dudley, West Midlands.
Cookson restrained Noah face down in a sleeping bag and placed a blanket over his head in an effort to make him sleep. CCTV footage captured her using her leg to prevent him from moving. Noah was left unattended for over two hours during this incident, leading to his suffocation.
Noah was subsequently found unresponsive and declared dead in hospital about an hour later. His parents expressed their devastation, with mother Masi stating that the nursery staff were “playing Russian roulette with our children’s lives.” Nursery owner Deborah Latewood, 55, has also admitted to a Health and Safety at Work Act offence and is awaiting sentencing.
This case has raised serious questions regarding the practices at the nursery, highlighting the need for stricter regulations in child care settings to ensure the safety of vulnerable children.
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Nursery worker jailed for killing toddler while trying to make him go to sleep | News UK
(Picture: SWNS/WEST MIDLANDS POLICE)
A nursery worker has been jailed for three years and four months after restraining and suffocating a toddler to get him to sleep.
Noah Sibanda was 14-months-old when he was left unchecked by staff for more than two hours at the now-closed Fairytales Day Nursery in Dudley, West Midlands.
Kimberly Cookson had wrapped him in a sleeping bag and restrained him face down in a bid to force him to go to sleep in December 2022.
CCTV showed her placing a blanket over his head and putting her left leg on him to stop him moving.
The 23-year-old, who was 20 at the time of the incident, pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter and is being sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court.
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Noah was declared dead in hospital around an hour after being found unresponsive.
Noah’s mum Masi said staff at the nursery ‘were playing Russian roulette with our children’s lives’.
She said: ‘I handed Noah over to the people who killed him.
‘Because of this I cannot forgive myself and consequently will never forgive the defendants.’
Noah’s father Thulani said: ‘My son died at just 14-months-old because of the gross negligence of someone who was trusted to care for him.
‘When a child is taken from this world the loss is immeasurable. Noah’s absence is felt in every corner of our lives.
‘Noah deserved to live. He deserved to be protected and we deserved to watch him grow up.’
Nursery owner Deborah Latewood, aged 55, is also facing sentence.
Latewood, of Dudley, has admitted a Health and Safety at Work Act offence on the basis that she did not know children were being put down to sleep in a dangerous way, but should have known.