A nursery worker who strapped a baby girl face down on to a bean bag for more than a hour and a half has been convicted of manslaughter.
Nine-month-old Genevieve Meehan was also tightly swaddled and covered with a blanket by Kate Roughley, 37, at Tiny Toes nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport.
Roughley had put her to sleep and then later discovered Genevieve’s lifeless body on the afternoon of May 9, 2022.
Colleagues and then paramedics attempted to revive the baby but she was pronounced dead later that day in hospital.
On Monday, a jury of six men and six women at Manchester Crown Court unanimously found Roughley, of Heaton Norris, Stockport, guilty of manslaughter.
Baby Genevieve has been remembered by her family as a ‘beautiful and wonderful’ daughter.
They said: ‘We grieve for her every day. We long desperately to see her smile, hear her laugh and feel her warm embrace. Her absence is a physical and emotional wound that will never heal.
“Genevieve wasn’t just a baby, she was a person. She loved to laugh, to play with her tambourine, to eat Spaghetti Bolognese and to be with her big sister. She was kind, affectionate, independent and mischievous. She was fascinated with the world and everything in it. She embraced every day. She loved life and we loved her instantly.
‘Our beautiful daughter deserves to be remembered for the wonderful person she is, not the nature of her death. She deserves to have a legacy so that her life can inspire others. As a family, we will work tirelessly to ensure she has the legacy she deserves.’
Jurors were previously told Genevieve was swaddled so tightly she ‘was effectively unable to move’, strapped ‘front down onto the bag by means of a harness’ and then covered ‘practically from head to foot’ by a blanket.
Prosecutor Peter Wright KC said : ‘What you will see, we say, is entirely consistent with an increasingly exhausted child desperately thrashing in order to survive.
‘Throughout the time of one hour and 37 minutes during which Genevieve had been left unable to move other than minimally, her cries and distress – sometimes accompanied by efforts to move or reposition herself – were simply ignored.
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The crying and struggling continued until 2.24pm when Genevieve’s final leg movements can be seen while Roughley was in the kitchen area, he added.
In a brief summary of the defence case, Sarah Elliott KC told jurors: ‘Genevieve’s death was a terrible and unavoidable accident and not caused by any acts of Kate Roughley that were unlawful.
‘You will hear that she was devastated by the events of that day and left heartbroken by what happened.’
Roughley will be sentenced on May 22.
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