Kate Roughley has been found guilty of manslaughter (Picture: LNP)
A nursery worker who strapped a baby girl face down on to a bean bag for more than a hour and a half has been convicted of manslaughter.
Nine-month-old Genevieve Meehan was also tightly swaddled and covered with a blanket by Kate Roughley, 37, at Tiny Toes nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport.
Roughley had put her to sleep and then later discovered Genevieve’s lifeless body on the afternoon of May 9, 2022.
Colleagues and then paramedics attempted to revive the baby but she was pronounced dead later that day in hospital.
On Monday, a jury of six men and six women at Manchester Crown Court unanimously found Roughley, of Heaton Norris, Stockport, guilty of manslaughter.
Jurors were previously told Genevieve was swaddled so tightly she ‘was effectively unable to move’, strapped ‘front down onto the bag by means of a harness’ and then covered ‘practically from head to foot’ by a blanket.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Within five minutes Genevieve can be seen moving her head side-to-side and raising her legs, jurors were told, with prosecutor Peter Wright KC adding: ‘What you will see, we say, is entirely consistent with an increasingly exhausted child desperately thrashing in order to survive.’
He told jurors that strapping a child to a bean bag on their front was an ‘obvious recipe for disaster’ and led to the death of the youngster from a combination of asphyxia and pathophysiological stress.
Mr Wright said Genevieve was left virtually immobilised and face down from 1.35pm to 3.12pm.
The prosecutor went on: ‘Throughout the time of one hour and 37 minutes during which Genevieve had been left unable to move other than minimally, her cries and distress – sometimes accompanied by efforts to move or reposition herself – were simply ignored.
More Trending
‘The risk to Genevieve of asphyxiation and death was both serious and obvious. Yet Kate Roughley ignored it and by the time she checked Genevieve with anything vaguely representing any genuine interest in her condition it was too late.’
The crying and struggling continued until 2.24pm when Genevieve’s final leg movements can be seen while Roughley was in the kitchen area, he added.
In a brief summary of the defence case, Sarah Elliott KC told jurors: ‘Genevieve’s death was a terrible and unavoidable accident and not caused by any acts of Kate Roughley that were unlawful.
‘You will hear that she was devastated by the events of that day and left heartbroken by what happened.’
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.