A daycare worker told a jury she felt responsible for the death of a girl in her care, who she put to sleep on a beanbag chair, but did not believe her actions were the cause.
Kate Roughley, 37, found nine-month-old Genevieve Meehan unresponsive and sad on the afternoon of May 9, 2022 at Tiny Toes Nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport.
The prosecution alleges that she placed Genevieve on her stomach, tightly swaddled and tied to a beanbag for more than 90 minutes while the young girl was left “virtually immobilized” and that her screams and distress were “simply ignored.”
Roughley, of Heaton Norris, Stockport, denies manslaughter and an alternative charge of child cruelty.
Giving evidence at Manchester Crown Court, Roughley said he placed Genevieve sideways on the beanbag and had “no cause for concern” until the moment he discovered the young girl was not breathing.
Her lawyer, Sarah Elliott KC, said: “You said that on May 9 you were worried about being held responsible for Genevieve’s death?”
Roughley said, “That’s right, yes.”
Miss Elliott said: “What responsibility do you feel for what happened?”
The defendant responded, “I feel responsible for Genevieve’s death as she was in my care that day. However, I do not feel that my actions were the cause of her death.”
Roughley said: “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about it [what happened on 9 May].
“It’s always my first thought of the day, constantly thinking about what Genevieve would be doing, what milestones she would achieve and how her development would grow.
“My thoughts are always with the family and what they have been through.”
Along with jurors, Roughley watched CCTV footage of the baby’s room on May 9 as he answered his lawyer’s questions.
She said she decided to put Genevieve on a bean bag instead of a bed because she had slept better there the week before.
Roughley was seen crawling over to the beanbag and leaning over Genevieve more than 30 minutes after she placed her there.
She said Genevieve became distraught as she adjusted the blanket when her head began to move and she began to cry.
But Roughley said he didn’t notice anything concerning.
Minutes later, Genevieve is seen lifting her head and lifting her legs, the footage showed.
Asked by her lawyer what she thought of it, Roughley said: “She tended to move and turn her head when she went to sleep.
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“She liked to kick her legs when she went to sleep. She was constantly kicking her legs. When she was sitting in the high chair waiting for lunch or tea, she would get excited and kick her legs.”
Roughley added that he thought the child was just “going back to sleep.”
The defendant agreed that “grunting” could later be heard in the beanbag area, but said: “She also made that noise in the morning and the week before. .”
More than an hour after putting Genevieve to sleep, she performed a physical exam, the court was told, and said she saw that Genevieve was breathing.
At this time, the defendant said she thought Genevieve was asleep.
Roughley said Genevieve was still lying in the same position when she did a routine check at 3.12pm.
“The first thing I noticed was that around her lips it was a little bluish.”
She also noticed that the child was not breathing.
“I panicked and moved her to check if she was breathing. I just turned her around in a panic.
“At that point she needed help, so I ran to get a senior member of management,” Roughley said, adding that she was “in shock” and “I knew I needed someone to help as quickly as possible.”
The trial continues on Thursday.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
