A nine-month-old baby girl died after a nursery assistant manager wrapped her tightly around her and placed her face down on a bean bag, a court heard.
Kate Roughley is accused of manslaughter after abusing Genevieve Meehan at Little Toes nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport.
On the afternoon of May 9, 2022, the defendant found Genevieve (called Gigi by her family) unresponsive and blue in the face.
Staff and paramedics tried to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead at hospital later that day.
When the case opened at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday, prosecutor Peter Wright KC told jurors that strapping the child to a bean bag in front of him was a “clear disaster”.
He said the young man died from asphyxiation and pathophysiological stress.
The defendant served as the nurse on duty on May 9 and was responsible for sleeping arrangements.
Mr Wright said Genevieve was “swaddled so tightly that the child could not actually move” and then “rather than lying on her back, she lay on her front so that in effect, for all purposes, the child All face down.”
“For babies as young as Genevieve, the risks of swaddling them tightly in this way rather than carrying them on your back are obvious,” he said.
“We say, as if this were not bad enough, Genevieve was also strapped face down to the bag by a seatbelt. We say the clear effect of this method of restraint is to limit even further enhancements to Genevieve’s freedom of movement or The ability to breathe.
“Finally, a blanket was thrown over her body, covering her almost from head to toe. The inevitable consequence of this would be that any observation of her would be more difficult and the risk of the child suffering from overheating would become greater.
“As expected, Genevieve was distressed by the treatment, but her cries were ignored and she was tightly wrapped, restrained and covered in this position.”
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Prosecutors said Genevieve remained nearly motionless and face down for an hour and 37 minutes, during which time “her crying and distress – sometimes accompanied by efforts to move or reposition herself – were Completely ignored.”
He added: “The risk of suffocation and death to Genevieve was both serious and obvious. Yet Kate Lovely ignored this when she examined Genevieve with anything vaguely representative of a genuine interest in her condition. By then, it was too late.”
Lovely denies manslaughter and other child abuse charges.
The trial continues Thursday.
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