Parents of baby girl killed by callous nursery worker reveal moment of heartbreaking false hope she would be OK as they rushed to hospital - as they demand change in the law
Genevieve Meehan died after Kate Roughley strapped her face down on a bean bag for more than 90 minutes at Tiny Toes nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport.
Roughley, who was jailed for 14 years in May 2024, tightly swaddled Genevieve before further restraining her with a harness then covering her with a blanket.
The 37-year-old then failed to carry out adequate checks on the distressed child before discovering her unresponsive and blue on the afternoon of May 9, 2022.
Roughley's colleagues and paramedics desperately tried to revive Genevieve but her condition was irreversible and she was pronounced dead in hospital later that day.
Now, the girl's parents have revealed how they received a phone call to say nursery staff had 'gone to wake Genevieve up from her sleep, and she was limp and blue'.
Recalling the horror of what happened next, her mother Katie Wheeler said: 'When we got to the hospital it was absolutely life-shattering, because I didn't know that she'd died by that point. It wasn't until trial that I realised that she had already died.
'When I was on the phone to the nursery, she was already dead, but I still thought that she'd be OK. I thought that they they'd be able to do something to help her.'
Ms Wheeler was speaking alongside her partner John Meehan in a joint interview with ITV and Manchester Evening News, just over a year after Roughley was found guilty of manslaughter by ill-treatment and sentenced at Manchester Crown Court.
The couple have now launched a campaign for better safety standards in early years settings, such as compulsory CCTV in nurseries and safe sleep training for workers.
Describing Genevieve as a 'beautiful, wonderful, very special little person', solicitor Ms Wheeler added: 'It seems so impossible, and you're just so desperate.
'You think, 'I saw you this morning and you were absolutely fine. You're this living being that is so loved, it can't possibly happen'.'
In May 2024, a jury unanimously found Roughley guilty after the prosecution said she 'persecuted' the youngster for occupying too much of her time.
Genevieve died from asphyxiation brought on by a combination of pathophysiological stresses created by a 'very unsafe sleeping environment'.
Roughley put Genevieve in 'mortal danger' because she was 'banished' to the bean bag for not sleeping long enough for her liking, the court heard at the time.
Rebecca Gregory, 25, another worker at the same nursery, was jailed for three years after she verbally abused children in her care and threatened to kick one in the head
Jurors were in tears at the start of the trial as they watched nursery CCTV footage of the baby room, which captured the tragedy unfolding as Genevieve was left 'virtually immobilised' from 1.35pm to 3.12pm.
The defendant's case was that Genevieve's death was a 'terrible and unavoidable accident' after she claimed she placed her on her side, that she was 'not unduly restrained' and that she made regular visual checks.
But, sentencing her, judge Mrs Justice Ellenbogen told Roughley: 'Her death was absolutely avoidable, the result of your unlawful acts on that day.'
In September 2024, another worker at the same nursery was jailed for three years after she verbally abused children in her care and threatened to kick one in the head.
Rebecca Gregory, 25, pleaded guilty to four counts of wilfully assaulting, ill-treating, neglecting, abandoning, or exposing a child in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering.
Police said she committed 'deplorable offences of neglect against four young children', with evidence against her unearthed during the investigation into Roughley.
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