A mother has delivered a powerful condemnation of a nursery worker, stating her 14-month-old son was treated 'worse than an animal' before he tragically suffocated while staff attempted to force him to sleep. Noah Sibanda lost his life following the harrowing incident in 2022, after being physically restrained face down on a cushion with a blanket covering his face and a leg placed over his small body.
Court Proceedings and Emotional Impact
Fairytales Day Nursery Limited in Dudley, along with its director and a staff member, faced sentencing at Wolverhampton Crown Court this afternoon over the death of young Noah. A victim impact statement read aloud from Noah's mother, Masi Sibanda, conveyed profound grief and enduring guilt. 'Since his death, there has not been a single day I haven't regretted being alive when he is not,' she expressed. 'My guilt comes from knowing I handed him over to people who killed him.'
Comparisons to Prison Force and Racial Concerns
Ms Sibanda compared the 'excessive' force used on her son to methods employed in prisons, adding, 'I can't forgive myself and cannot forgive the defendants. Guilt lives with me every time I look at my daughter. Why did they hate our son so much?' She further questioned whether Noah's treatment was influenced by his skin colour, stating, 'Behind closed doors, they were playing Russian Roulette with our children.'
Final Moments and Legal Admissions
Recalling her last moments with Noah, Ms Sibanda shared, 'Last time I saw and held my child was in hospital, shortly after I was told nothing more could be done. He wouldn't open his eyes when I whispered to him that it was time to go home.' In legal developments, nursery practitioner Kimberley Cookson, 23, admitted gross negligence manslaughter for her actions on December 9, 2022, while trying to make the toddler sleep.
Fairytales Day Nursery Limited admitted one count of corporate manslaughter and a Health and Safety at Work Act offence last month. Director and business owner Deborah Latewood, 55, also admitted a Health and Safety at Work Act offence, acknowledging she should have known children were being put down to sleep in a dangerous manner.
CCTV Evidence and Tragic Outcome
Prosecutors revealed that CCTV footage captured the incident, showing Noah tightly wrapped in a sleeping bag with a blanket over his head, laid face down by Cookson. She allegedly held the toddler face down on a cushion and restrained him with her leg, in what appeared to be an effort to 'make him sleep when he did not want to'. Noah was later found not breathing, prompting a 999 call, but he was pronounced dead in hospital. The nursery, now closed, along with Cookson and Latewood, await sentencing by Mr Justice Choudhury.
