Pre-School Worker Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter of 14-Month-Old Boy: Reports

A 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.

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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.