Ruth Auta, a Nigerian nurse working in the UK, has been sentenced to three years in prison by Bolton Crown Court for the death of her 10-week-old son, Joshua Akerele.
Auta was found guilty of neglecting Joshua, leaving him unattended in her nurse’s accommodation at Royal Bolton Hospital for eight hours on December 20, 2022, while she completed her shift.
When Auta called an ambulance at 15:24 pm, reporting Joshua was not breathing, emergency responders attempted to resuscitate him. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead at 16:40 pm.
Initially, Auta told Greater Manchester police she had collected Joshua from a childminder after work and found him unresponsive after falling asleep next to him. However, evidence revealed she had left Joshua alone in her accommodation.
However, CCTV footage obtained by police showed Auta leaving her flat without Joshua at 06:47 and returning home alone at 15:13.
Messages found on Auta’s phone showed she had asked the childminder to tell the police she had looked after Joshua that day, but the nanny told officers she had not seen the baby for a few days.
Auta was charged with cruelty to a child and pleaded guilty at a hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 24 May.
The case was adjourned to June 21 for sentence, but Auta was arrested at Gatwick Airport on 6 June after trying to board a flight to Nigeria on a one-way ticket.
Sara Davie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Whilst she went to work to provide care for other people, Ruth Auta left the very person who needed her care the most home alone.”
Although no conclusive cause of death could be given for Joshua, the court heard he may have overheated due to the layers of clothing and bedding he was wrapped in.
Davie said that, as a nurse, Auta should have known the dangers of leaving her baby unattended and “must now live with the consequences of the terrible decision she made that day”.
“Our thoughts and sympathies are with all those who have been affected by Joshua’s death,” Davie added.
