Toddler died at nursery after being restrained and left unchecked for two hours

A healthy 14-month-old boy died after being wrapped in a sleeping bag and restrained at a nursery with exceptionally dangerous sleeping practices for infants, a court has heard.

Wolverhampton Crown Court was told Noah Sibanda went unchecked by staff for more than two hours after being put face down to sleep in an indoor tepee.

The now closed Fairytales Day Nursery, in Bourne Street, Dudley, West Midlands, has admitted corporate manslaughter, while nursery worker Kimberley Cookson has pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter.

Victim impact statements were read to the court by junior prosecution counsel Daniel Cordey during a sentencing hearing on Thursday.

In the statements, Noah’s mother Masi described his birth as “a prayer answered” and spoke of how he had brought a calmness to her life.

Describing how she had left Noah in the care of staff she thought would look after him, she said: “I handed Noah over to the people who killed him.

“Because of this I cannot forgive myself and consequently will never forgive the defendants.”

She added of the nursery: “Behind closed doors they were playing Russian roulette with our children’s lives.”

In a separate statement, Noah’s 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.

“When a child is taken from this world the loss is immeasurable. Noah’s absence is felt in every corner of our lives.

“Noah deserved to live. He deserved to be protected and we deserved to watch him grow up.”

Opening the facts of the case, prosecutor John Elvidge KC said Cookson, then 20 and now aged 23, was recorded by CCTV cameras as she tightly wrapped Noah in a sleeping bag.

Further footage captured her placing a blanket over the toddler’s head before moving her left leg over him, in what is said to have been an effort to restrict his movement, for around seven minutes.

The court was told Noah was pronounced dead in hospital around an hour after being found unresponsive on the afternoon of December 9 2022.

Mr Elvidge said that covering children’s heads to get them to sleep was a habitual practice in the baby room at the nursery, while Noah was described as a “very good child” with a gentle manner who was beginning to walk and speak.

The prosecutor said of comments made in interview by Cookson: “She thought it was fine to cover faces.

“She couldn’t explain why she had behaved so harshly to Noah that day.”

Exceptionally dangerous sleeping routines for infants at the nursery posed risks of overheating and exhaustion, the court heard.

Mr Elvidge added: “Kimberley Cookson’s negligence was gross. That means it was truly exceptionally bad.”

Nursery owner Deborah Latewood, aged 55, is also facing sentence.

Latewood, of Himley Avenue, Dudley, has admitted a Health and Safety at Work Act offence on the basis that she did not know children were being put down to sleep in a dangerous way, but should have known.

Both Cookson, of The Broadway, Dudley, and Latewood became visibly upset in the glass-fronted dock as Mr Elvidge addressed the court, and as excerpts of the CCTV in the case were played to sentencing judge Mr Justice Choudhury.

Rashad Mohammed, defending Cookson, said she has no previous convictions and had found her first experience of the criminal justice system extremely frightening.

She had not acted with malice, he added.

He told the court: “Her motivation that day was to try and put Noah to sleep. She did not intend to cause him any harm.”

Cookson was filled with remorse and regret, the court heard, and would have to live with what happened for the rest of her life.

The court heard that Fairytales Day Nursery had no assets and went into liquidation after it was ordered to close following the death.

Dominic Kay KC, defending the company, submitted that a culture had developed in the baby room whereby children were not being treated with sufficient care by some staff.

Employees had been trained but it had clearly not been effective with sleeping practices, he said.

Mr Kay continued: “Nothing I say on behalf of the company can begin to address the grief and sorrow felt by Noah’s family.”

During mitigation for Latewood, defence KC Mark Balysz said she had set up her company in 2003 and had seen her personal and professional life collapse after Noah’s death.

A letter to the judge from the mother-of-one read to the court said: “I am very sorry.

“Noah was a beautiful, happy, lovable child. His smile radiated and he was a cheeky chappie.

“My total aim has and always will be the safety and security of children and families.

“This did not happen for that beautiful child Noah and words will never be enough. I failed Noah and his family, his community and his God.”

Mr Balysz added that Latewood – who was not working at the Bourne Street site on the day of the death – had not thought that another senior manager would have allowed the conduct, including rough handling, recorded by the CCTV cameras.

“The killing of Noah and what Mrs Latewood saw occurring on the CCTV when it was disclosed by the prosecution came as an appalling shock to Mrs Latewood,” he said.

Latewood had been forced to sell her home and now has large debts, the court heard.

Sentencing is due to take place on Friday afternoon.