KATE ROUGHDLEY SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS FOR TRAGIC DEATH OF BABY GIGI AT STOCKPORT NURSERY

In a heartbreaking case that has shocked the community of Stockport, a nursery worker named Kate Roughley has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for her role in the death of a nine-month-old girl, known affectionately as Gigi by her family. The incident occurred at Tiny Toes nursery located in Cheadle Hulme, a suburb of Stockport, where Roughley served as the deputy manager.

Roughley, aged 37, was found guilty of manslaughter after a rigorous four-week trial held at Manchester Crown Court. The court heard harrowing details of how Gigi was left in a distressing and dangerous situation, strapped face down to a beanbag in the nursery’s baby room for over 90 minutes on May 9, 2022. The prosecution described the act as a form of punishment, which ultimately led to the child's suffocation and tragic death.

The judge, Mrs Justice Ellenbogen KC, delivered her sentence on a Wednesday, emphasizing the callousness of Roughley's actions. She stated that Roughley had viewed Gigi “at best a nuisance” and had sometimes expressed antipathy towards her. The judge expressed profound sorrow for the loss suffered by Gigi’s family, noting that her parents and grandparents had lost their “sunny, funny little girl” due to what she described as a “callous act.” The judge further remarked that Roughley's conduct had deprived Gigi of her future and left a lasting void in the lives of those who loved her.

The court proceedings revealed that on the day of her death, Gigi was left swaddled in a blanket and strapped face down to a beanbag in the nursery’s baby room for approximately one hour and 37 minutes. Despite her long confinement, Roughley, who had worked at the nursery for 17 years and was responsible for the baby room, denied any involvement in manslaughter or child cruelty, asserting that she did not cause the girl’s death.

However, evidence presented during the trial painted a different picture. It was revealed that Roughley had developed a dislike for Gigi and had behaved antagonistically towards her in the days leading up to her death. Witnesses testified that Roughley had told the baby to “stop your whingeing” and remarked, “Genevieve, if we had any chance of being friends, you just blew it,” later adding, “You are driving me bananas.”

On the day Gigi died, CCTV footage showed Roughley removing the child from her cot and placing her impatiently on a play mat, muttering “vile” and “Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes.” Within an hour, she was seen clapping and singing in a mocking tone, “Oh Genevieve. Genevieve go home, Genevieve go home, go home Genevieve,” as the crying girl lay on the play mat.

Gigi’s mother, Katie Meehan, delivered a poignant victim impact statement that was read aloud in court. She described feeling “dead inside” and overwhelmed by guilt for leaving her daughter in Roughley’s care. She expressed her profound love for Gigi, recalling her daughter’s joyful personality, her laughter, and her love for playing with her six-year-old sister. The mother shared her heartbreak over the family’s ruined plans, including a holiday booked for July, and recounted how Gigi had been trying on her sunglasses and swimming costume just a day before her death.

In her statement, Katie Meehan said, “How is any parent supposed to live with this. It was and is so horrifying. I don’t know how I have survived. Every day is torturous and I don’t know how I will live like this for the rest of my life. This has destroyed my family.” She also expressed her longing to hold her daughter again and to hear her breath in her ear, describing Gigi as a “beautiful soul” and the “light of our lives.”

Genevieve’s six-year-old sister also contributed a brief statement, saying, “Every day I get punched with sadness. What this lady has done is terrible and nobody should experience this.”

Genevieve’s father, John Meehan, addressed Roughley directly from the witness box, describing the “gross indignity” his daughter suffered, including invasive CPR and a postmortem examination. He added that the family had endured “the indignity and horror of a police investigation which traumatised us afresh every day.” Throughout the proceedings, Roughley sat silently, staring at the floor with an expressionless face as the victim impact statements were read.

Roughley’s legal representative, Sarah Elliott KC, stated that her client was “devastated” by her actions and expressed remorse, despite her refusal to accept full legal responsibility for Gigi’s death. She highlighted Roughley’s unblemished 17-year career at Tiny Toes and argued that she had been “failed” by the nursery’s management, which employed too few staff members, often leaving her responsible for between 11 and 16 babies alone. Elliott emphasized that Roughley was “not a monster.”

Nevertheless, Judge Ellenbogen dismissed these arguments, asserting that “none of that could explain or justify” her conduct towards Gigi. She concluded that Roughley’s interactions with the young girl on May 6 and May 9 lacked any semblance of care, kindness, or concern for her well-being, and that her actions were utterly unacceptable and criminal.