Latest news with #KimberleyCookson
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Pre-School Worker Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter of 14-Month-Old Boy at Daycare: Reports
14-month-old toddler Noah Sibanda died "following an incident" at Fairytales Day Nursery in the West Midlands, U.K. on Dec. 9, 2022 Nursery worker Kimberley Cookson, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday, June 10, according to reports Nursery director Deborah Latewood, 54, and Fairytales Day Nursery also face charges in connection with the toddler's deathA nursery practitioner has admitted to the manslaughter of a toddler in England. Kimberley Cookson, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of gross negligence manslaughter in court on Tuesday, June 10, in connection with the death of 14-month-old Noah Sibanda at Fairytales Day Nursery in the West Midlands' town of Dudley, U.K. outlets ITV News and Hereford Times reported. Sibanda died 'following an incident' at the nursery on Dec. 9, 2022, Malcolm McHaffie, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Division, stated in a press release in April. 'Following a review of the evidence provided by West Midlands Police, we have authorised criminal charges in relation to the death of a 14-month-old child at a nursery in Dudley," said McHaffie. Deborah Latewood, 54, the director and owner of Fairytales Day Nursery, was charged with failing to comply with general duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, according to the release. She pleaded not guilty in court on Tuesday, ITV News reported. Fairytales Nursery Limited, which is no longer in operation, was charged with one count of corporate manslaughter and failing to comply with a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act. The firm entered a plea of not guilty to the charge, per the Hereford Times. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. According to the outlet, the company was alleged to have 'failure to ensure that children in the baby room were put down to sleep in a safe way, failure to ensure that staff were adequately trained to put babies down to sleep and failure to ensure staff were adequately supervised while doing so.' Following the tragic death of Sibanda, Fairytales Nursery Limited had its registration suspended by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) after the department 'believed children may be at risk of harm,' per ITV News. The outlet reported that Judge Michael Chambers KC said the company and Latewood would likely face a trial in 2026, though he did not confirm a date. Cookson and Latewood were reportedly released on unconditional bail until the next hearing, which is said to be set for Dec. 5. Judge Chambers said, per ITV News, 'In your case, Kimberley Cookson, you have had the courage to plead guilty and will get the appropriate credit for that plea. I am adjourning your sentencing until the conclusion of the trial, so the judge will have all the facts of the case.' PEOPLE reached out to the CPS for comment, but they did not immediately respond. Read the original article on People
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Dudley nursery worker admits manslaughter after toddler's death
A nursery worker has admitted manslaughter in connection with the death of a 14-month-old Sibanda died after an incident at Dudley's Fairytales Day Nursery, in the West Midlands, on 9 December Cookson, 22, appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to one count of gross negligence owner Deborah Latewood, 54, appeared alongside Cookson in the dock and denied failing to comply with a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure that Noah and others were not exposed to risk between 29 November and 9 December 2022. A plea of not guilty was entered on behalf of the firm which ran the now-closed nursery, based in Bourne Street, to one count of corporate includes an alleged failure to ensure children in the baby room were put down to sleep in a safe way, failure to ensure staff were adequately trained to put babies down to sleep and failure to ensure staff were adequately supervised while doing company also denies failing to comply with a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure Noah and others were not exposed to risk between 29 November and 9 December 2022. Cookson and Latewood spoke only to confirm their date of birth and to enter their pleas in front of the courtroom, which was packed with members of Noah's family and supporters of the Michael Chambers KC said Latewood and the company would face a trial, likely to be in 2026, but did not set a will be sentenced upon conclusion of the trial, which is expected to last three weeks and both Cookson and Ms Latewood were released on unconditional bail until the next Chambers said: "In your case, Kimberley Cookson, you have had the courage to plead guilty and will get the appropriate credit for that plea."I am adjourning your sentencing until the conclusion of the trial, so the judge will have all the facts of the case."He warned both defendants that if they did not appear for their trial, they could face further criminal proceedings.A pre-trial review hearing was set for 5 December. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Nursery worker admits manslaughter after death of 14-month-old boy
A nursery worker has admitted manslaughter in connection with the death of a 14-month-old boy. Kimberley Cookson, 22, appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to one count of gross negligence manslaughter following the death of Noah Sibanda, who died after an incident at Dudley's Fairytales Day Nursery on December 9 2022. Business owner Deborah Latewood, 54, appeared alongside Cookson in the dock and pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure that Noah and others were not exposed to risk between November 29 and December 9 2022. A plea of not guilty was entered on behalf of the firm which ran the now-closed nursery, based in Bourne Street, to one count of corporate manslaughter, including an alleged failure to ensure that children in the baby room were put down to sleep in a safe way, failure to ensure that staff were adequately trained to put babies down to sleep and failure to ensure staff were adequately supervised while doing so. The company also pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure that Noah and others were not exposed to risk between November 29 and December 9 2022. Cookson, who wore a green shirt, and Latewood, who wore a white shirt and a grey blazer, spoke only to confirm their date of birth and to enter their pleas in front of the courtroom, which was packed with members of Noah's family and supporters of the defendants. Judge Michael Chambers KC said Latewood and the company would face a trial, likely to be in 2026, but did not set a date. Cookson will be sentenced upon conclusion of the trial, which is expected to last three weeks and both Cookson and Latewood were released on unconditional bail until the next hearing. Judge Chambers said: 'In your case, Kimberley Cookson, you have had the courage to plead guilty and will get the appropriate credit for that plea. 'I am adjourning your sentencing until the conclusion of the trial, so the judge will have all the facts of the case.' He warned both defendants that if they did not appear for their trial, they could face further criminal proceedings. A pre-trial review hearing was set for December 5.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Nursery worker, 22, admits manslaughter after 14-month-old boy dies in her care
A 22-year-old nursery worker has admitted manslaughter after a 14-month old baby died in her care. Kimberley Cookson pleaded guilty to one count of gross negligence manslaughter following the death of Noah Sibanda, who died after an incident at Dudley's Fairytales Day Nursery on December 9, 2022. The youngster, who had not yet learned how to properly walk, was rushed to hospital but all attempts to save him were futile. His mother Masi Sibanda, 31, described him as a 'handsome, beautiful, cute boy' who was very 'lovable' and always smiling. 'I know parents are biased, but he was so beautiful,' she said in a heartfelt tribute following his death. 'He was calm, very relaxed and quite chilled and unfazed by things. We would find him just chilling with his arm behind his head. He was very easy-going and he made it easy as a first-time parent.' Cookson, who wore a green shirt, appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday and was told she would likely face trial in 2026. Deborah Latewood, 54, who was the director and business owner, appeared alongside Cookson in the dock. The courtroom was packed with members of Noah's family and supporters of the defendants. Latewood pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure that Noah and others were not exposed to risk between November 29 and December 9 2022. A plea of not guilty was entered on behalf of the firm which ran the now-closed nursery, based in Bourne Street, to one count of corporate manslaughter, including an alleged failure to ensure that children in the baby room were put down to sleep in a safe way, failure to ensure that staff were adequately trained to put babies down to sleep and failure to ensure staff were adequately supervised while doing so. The company also pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure that Noah and others were not exposed to risk between November 29 and December 9 2022. Cookson and Latewood spoke only to confirm their date of birth and to enter their pleas in front of the courtroom. Judge Michael Chambers KC said Latewood and the company would face a trial. He said this would likely to be in 2026, but did not set a date. Cookson will be sentenced upon conclusion of the trial, which is expected to last three weeks. Both Cookson and Latewood were released on unconditional bail until the next hearing. Judge Chambers said: 'In your case, Kimberley Cookson, you have had the courage to plead guilty and will get the appropriate credit for that plea. 'I am adjourning your sentencing until the conclusion of the trial, so the judge will have all the facts of the case.' He warned both defendants that if they did not appear for their trial, they could face further criminal proceedings. A pre-trial review hearing was set for December 5.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Nursery worker admits manslaughter after death of 14-month-old boy
Kimberley Cookson today pleaded guilty to one count of gross negligence manslaughter after little Noah Sibanda died at Dudley's Fairytales Day Nursery aged just 14 months old A nursery worker has admitted to manslaughter in connection with the death of a 14-month-old boy. Kimberley Cookson today pleaded guilty to one count of gross negligence manslaughter following the death of Noah Sibanda, who died after an incident at Dudley's Fairytales Day Nursery on December 9, 2022. The 22 year old appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court, alongside business owner Deborah Latewood, 54. Latewood pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure that Noah and others were not exposed to risk between November 29 and December 9, 2022. A plea of not guilty was also entered on behalf of the firm which ran the now-closed nursery, to one count of corporate manslaughter, including an alleged failure to ensure that children in the baby room were put down to sleep in a safe way, failure to ensure that staff were adequately trained to put babies down to sleep and failure to ensure staff were adequately supervised while doing so. The company also pleaded not guilty to failing to comply with a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure that Noah and others were not exposed to risk between November 29 and December 9 2022. Cookson, who wore a green shirt, and Latewood, who wore a white shirt and a grey blazer, spoke only to confirm their date of birth and to enter their pleas in front of the courtroom, which was packed with members of Noah's family and supporters of the defendants. Judge Michael Chambers KC said Latewood and the company would face a trial, likely to be in 2026, but did not set a date. Cookson will be sentenced upon conclusion of the trial, which is expected to last three weeks and both Cookson and Latewood were released on unconditional bail until the next hearing. Judge Chambers said: 'In your case, Kimberley Cookson, you have had the courage to plead guilty and will get the appropriate credit for that plea. I am adjourning your sentencing until the conclusion of the trial, so the judge will have all the facts of the case.' He warned both defendants that if they did not appear for their trial, they could face further criminal proceedings. A pre-trial review hearing was set for December 5.
