A nursery worker who 'tightly' wrapped a 14-month-old boy in a sleeping bag and placed him face down in a tepee with a blanket over his head has been jailed for three years and four months. Kimberley Cookson also put her leg over Noah Sibanda 'for around seven minutes' as she attempted to get him to sleep on December 9, 2022 - despite him only waking from a nap less than an hour earlier. It was two hours before anyone physically checked on Noah, and by that point, he was no longer breathing. Paramedics were called but sadly nothing could be done to save the youngster, and he was pronounced dead at hospital.
Cookson was Noah's key worker at the now-closed Fairytales Day Nursery in Bourne Street, Dudley, and someone police said 'was meant to keep him safe and protect him' - however she later admitted gross negligence manslaughter in relation to her actions in trying to make the toddler sleep. The 23-year-old from Dudley was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Thursday, April 12.
Police describe 'pivotal' CCTV evidence
Detective Inspector Carla Thompson told BirminghamLive when Cookson was arrested for gross negligence manslaughter, she'd 'said it was a sudden unexpected death'. The investigating officer added: 'She didn't show any remorse during her interview.' The sentencing hearing was the conclusion of a lengthy investigation, which Det Insp Thompson described as 'complex'. She said: 'This wasn't just about Kimberley Cookson and the gross negligence manslaughter, this was about the owner of the nursery and the company being held responsible for the corporate manslaughter and those health and safety offences. We had to build the case and speak to lots of witnesses and experts around what happened that day and the unsafe sleeping practices that were going on in the nursery.'
'We watched hours of CCTV footage, not just of that day when Noah passed away, but also the days prior to that as well. We could see those unsafe sleeping practices were going on, and yes, it did include those practises with other children, as well as Noah. I think the CCTV was pivotal in the investigation, especially in relation to the unsafe sleeping practices and what happened that day. It showed what happened.'
Nursery and director also held accountable
The sentencing hearing also saw Fairytales Day Nursery Limited was fined £240,000 after admitting corporate manslaughter and failing to comply with a duty under section 3(1) Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The firm was also ordered to pay £56,000 costs. Director and business owner Deborah Latewood, 55, also admitted failing to comply with general duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, on the basis that she did not know children were being put down to sleep in this dangerous way. Latewood, from Dudley, was jailed for six months, suspended for two years.
Det Insp Thompson said Latewood had not been present at the nursery when Noah died, but added: 'We reviewed CCTV and there was hours of footage that was showing the same practices, and as the owner of a nursery, they should be aware of the practices going on in their nursery and she wasn't, so that is why she's been held to account for Noah's death.'
