Genevieve Meehan suffocated after being placed in "mortal danger" as a "punishment" by Kate Roughley, the deputy manager of Tiny Toes nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, the trial heard.
Roughley, 37, was found guilty yesterday of the manslaughter of Genevieve after a four-week trial at Manchester crown court. She will be sentenced tomorrow.
The court heard how Genevieve, known to her family as Gigi, was left for one hour and 37 minutes swaddled in a blanket and strapped face down to a beanbag in the baby room at Tiny Toes on 9 May 2022.
Genevieve's mother, Katie Meehan, held back tears in the public gallery as the jury foreperson said jurors had unanimously found Roughley guilty of manslaughter after five hours and 46 minutes of deliberations.
Roughley showed no reaction as she was taken into custody after the judge, Mrs Justice Ellenbogen KC, said she was facing a "lengthy" prison term.
Roughley's mother, who sat on the opposite side of the public gallery to enevieve's family, was heard to say "She's not a monster" after the verdicts were delivered.
Outside court, Genevieve's father, John Meehan, said her death had "destroyed our family" and that they grieved for her every day.
This story is from the May 21, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 21, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Swiatek strolls into quarter-finals after punishing Potapova
After an opening week defined by Iga Swiatek's grit, as she saved match point and recovered from the brink of defeat against a resurgent Naomi Osaka in her second-round match, the Pole's bakery reopened with ruthless efficiency yesterday as the best player in the world demolished Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0 to return to the French Open quarter-finals.
Freewheeling Jones clobbers Canada in debut win for USA
Build it, and they will come.
Union steps up action at Tata steelworks in south Wales
Union leaders are preparing to increase industrial action at two south Wales steelworks, in a further escalation of a row over almost 3,000 job losses that threatens to become a big general election issue.
Ex-president hails support of Republican party since trial
Donald Trump lauded the Republican party yesterday for rallying behind him after his conviction on 34 felony charges in a hush-money case aimed at influencing the 2016 election.
Commercial trucks choking off critical supplies, say NGOs
Aid shipments into southern Gaza are being squeezed out by commercial convoys, humanitarian organisations say, at a time when Israel's military push into Rafah has choked off supply routes critical to feeding hundreds of thousands of people.
Legal fund helping Russians abroad is exposed as Kremlin influence operation
Leaked documents have exposed the activities of a Russian state-backed legal defence foundation that European intelligence agencies and analysts say is a Kremlin influence operation active in 48 countries.
ANC on lookout for coalition partners after losing overall majority for the first time
Final results from last week's South African elections were released yesterday, confirming that the African National Congress party had lost its majority for the first time in 30 years and firing the starting gun on unprecedented coalition talks.
Fears of cultural crisis in Edinburgh as fringe venue is put up for sale
Senior figures in the arts have warned that Edinburgh faces a cultural crisis after it emerged that one of the city's most famous venues, Summerhall, has been put up for sale.
Rise in patients treated in corridors a 'national emergency', say nurses
Overcrowding is forcing hospitals to treat so many patients in corridors and storerooms that it constitutes a \"national emergency\", the UK's nursing union will warn today.
"They will not silence his voice' Grief and defiance as journalist's widow visits the site of his death
Alessandra Sampaio fell to her knees and wept as she clambered on to the boat's deck and came face to face with the remote riverside clearing where her husband's life was extinguished and hers was turned upside down.
