A nursery worker has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after a 14-month-old boy died while in her care at a nursery in Dudley. Kimberley Cookson, 23, admitted gross negligence manslaughter following the death of Noah Sibanda in December 2022.
Noah died after being physically restrained face-down with a blanket over his head while being put to sleep at Fairytales Day Nursery. He was left unchecked for two hours before being found unresponsive and later pronounced dead in hospital.
Sentencing at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Justice Choudhury told Cookson it was 'blind luck' that no other deaths had occurred at the nursery. The judge described CCTV footage as 'shocking' and said dangerous practices had gone unchecked.
The nursery's owner, Deborah Latewood, 55, received a six-month suspended sentence after admitting a health and safety offence. The now-closed nursery was fined £240,000 for corporate manslaughter and health and safety failures, and ordered to pay £56,000 in costs.
Noah's mother, Masi Sibanda, told the court: 'I handed Noah over to the people who killed him.' His 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.'
