Nursery nurse put baby in 'mortal danger' and then did nothing about it, court told
15.05.2024 - 16:23
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A nursery nurse put a baby girl in “mortal danger” and then deliberately did nothing about it, a jury has heard.
Kate Roughley, 37, is on trial at Manchester Crown Court accused of the manslaughter by ill-treatment of nine-month-old Genevieve Meehan, who was in her care at Tiny Toes nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport.
The Crown say the youngster died from asphyxiation brought about by a combination of “pathophysiological stresses” after the defendant placed her face down, tightly swaddled and strapped to a bean bag, and then covered her with a blanket.
It is alleged she then ignored the cries and distress of Genevieve, and showed “sporadic” and “fleeting” interest in her wellbeing, for one hour and 37 minutes until she made the grim discovery.
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Roughley denied she ignored Genevieve and told the court she placed her on her side, that her face was visible at all times and she had no concerns that she was in any distress.
During the course of the trial the jurors have been shown nursery CCTV footage of the baby room which captured the tragedy on the afternoon of May 9, 2022.
In his closing speech to the jury on Wednesday, Peter Wright KC said the defendant had “abused and exploited” the trust placed in her to “her own benefit and at the cost of that child”.
He said: “Genevieve’s death was not the result of some unforeseen, unexpected, unexplained phenomenon as suggested by Kate Roughley but the result of asphyxiation brought about by a combination of pathophysiological stresses – each of them caused or brought about by her deliberate conduct.
“Genevieve’s death was not a terrible and unavoidable accident. We say it was