14-month-old Noah Sibanda died after nursery worker Kimberley Cookson placed him face down in a ‘tightly wrapped’ sleeping bag at Fairytales Day Nursery in Dudley
The harrowing final moments of a 14-month-old baby were captured on CCTV as the youngster suffocated to death while a nursery worker tried forcing him to sleep.
Noah Sibanda died after being placed face down in a “tightly wrapped” sleeping bag at Fairytales Day Nursery in Dudley. Nursery worker Kimberley Cookson restrained the toddler with her leg and “patted” him to sleep before he was found unresponsive two hours later.
The youngster, who also had a blanket placed over his head, was “clearly not tired” and was seen “trashing around” as Cookson, who was 20 at the time, “put her leg over him for seven minutes” in a bid to restrain him.
She was today jailed for three years and four months after pleading guilty to gross negligence manslaughter in relation to her actions when trying to make tragic Noah sleep.
Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Noah was placed in an “exceptionally dangerous” position, after which he was pronounced dead in hospital at 4.15am on December 9, 2022.
Detective Inspector Carla Thompson from West Midlands Police said the “harrowing” CCTV footage proved “pivotal” in the investigation. She said the clip exposed the nursery’s wider “unsafe sleeping practices”, which were happening to “a lot of children in the room, not just Noah”.
The investigating officer said Noah was also seen “trying to free himself” from a tightly wrapped blanket during a nap that day, reports Birmingham Live.
Det Insp Thompson said: “In the events leading up to Noah’s death, his key worker – the person who was meant to keep him safe and protect him – Kimberley Cookson wrapped him really tightly in a blanket and placed him face down on a cushion with a blanket over his head.
“Noah tried to free himself, but he couldn’t, and during that morning sleep, he slid off the cushion onto the floor. He woke from his morning sleep, but after only being awake for 30 minutes, he was put down ready for another sleep. Again, he was wrapped up really tightly, placed face down in a tepee with a blanket over his head.
“Even though it was clear Noah wasn’t tired, she continued to pat him to sleep and she even put her leg over him for several minutes, then Noah wasn’t physically checked upon for two hours. When staff did check on him, they found he wasn’t breathing and rang paramedics.”
Fairytales Day Nursery Limited was fined £240,000 after admitting corporate manslaughter and failing to comply with a duty under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The company was also ordered to pay costs of £56,000.
Nursery 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, and was jailed for six months, suspended for two years.
Det Insp Thompson said: “From what I saw on the CCTV, and what my team have seen, the unsafe practices were happening to different children, not just 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.
“The CCTV was harrowing, it was distressing, it has been a difficult case for myself and my team, but this has been about getting justice for Noah and his family, and that’s hopefully what we’ve done.”
Noah’s mum, Masi Sibanda, said in a victim impact statement read to the court: “Behind closed doors, they were playing Russian Roulette with our children.” She described Noah as a confident child, who was “always kind and full of patience and gentleness.”
Ms Sibanda told the court she had a “naive trust in the nursery” and “will forever feel guilty”.
“Since his death, there has not been a single day I haven’t regretted being alive when he is not,” she said. “My guilt comes from knowing I handed him over to people who killed him.”
