A Nigerian nurse, Ruth Auta, has been sentenced to three years in prison by a Bolton Crown Court in the United Kingdom for the death of her 10-week-old son, Joshua Akerele.
Auta was found guilty of leaving her infant unattended for eight hours in her nurse’s accommodation at Royal Bolton Hospital while she completed a shift on December 20, 2022.
Auta called an ambulance at 3:24 pm, reporting that Joshua was not breathing. Despite resuscitation attempts, the baby was pronounced dead at 4:40 pm.
Initially, Auta told Greater Manchester Police that she had collected Joshua from a childminder after finishing work and later found him unresponsive after falling asleep beside him. However, CCTV footage revealed she had left her flat at 6:47 am without the baby and returned home alone at 3:13 pm.
Further investigation uncovered messages on Auta’s phone asking the childminder to lie to the police and claim she had looked after Joshua that day. The childminder, however, informed the authorities that she had not seen the baby for several days.
Auta was charged with cruelty to a child and pleaded guilty in a May 24 hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court. The case was initially adjourned to June 21 for sentencing, but Auta was arrested at Gatwick Airport on June 6 while attempting to board a one-way flight to Nigeria.
Sara Davie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, condemned Auta’s actions: “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.”
Though no definitive cause of death was determined, the court heard that Joshua may have overheated due to the layers of clothing and bedding he was wrapped in. Davie emphasized that as a nurse, Auta should have understood the dangers of leaving her baby unattended.
“Our thoughts and sympathies are with all those who have been affected by Joshua’s death,” Davie concluded.
