KATE ROUGHDLEY SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS IN PRISON FOR THE TRAGIC DEATH OF BABY GENEVIIEVE IN STOCKPORT

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

Roughley's conviction for manslaughter was announced after a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court. The judge, Mrs Justice Ellenbogen KC, delivered her sentence on a Wednesday, emphasizing the callousness of her actions. She described Roughley as having viewed Genevieve “at best a nuisance” and sometimes with “antipathy,” highlighting the emotional detachment that characterized her treatment of the infant. The judge stated, “At your hands Genevieve’s parents and grandparents… have lost their sunny, funny little girl. By your callous act, you have deprived her of the future she would have had and left an enduring void in their lives.”

The court proceedings revealed that on May 9, 2022, Genevieve was left in a distressing and dangerous situation for over an hour and a half. She was swaddled in a blanket and strapped face down onto a beanbag in the baby room at Tiny Toes. Despite her young age, she was subjected to this treatment as a form of punishment, which ultimately led to her suffocation. Roughley, who had been working at the nursery for 17 years and was responsible for managing the baby room, denied the charges of manslaughter and child cruelty, insisting 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 Genevieve and had exhibited hostile behavior towards her in the days leading up to her death. Witnesses testified that Roughley 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.” CCTV footage from the day Genevieve died showed Roughley removing her from her cot and placing her on a play mat in an impatient manner, muttering words like “vile” and “Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes.”

Further footage captured Roughley clapping and singing in a mocking tone as Genevieve cried on the play mat, singing, “Oh Genevieve. Genevieve go home, Genevieve go home, go home Genevieve.” The court also heard from Genevieve’s mother, Katie Meehan, who read a victim impact statement describing her profound grief and guilt. She expressed feeling “dead inside” and overwhelmed by remorse for leaving her daughter in Roughley’s care. “My love for Genevieve cannot be put into words. I find that since she was so cruelly taken from me that words are simply inadequate. Nothing can reflect the horror of her death or the life that I now live,” she said, sobbing in the courtroom.

Mrs. Meehan recounted how her daughter, Gigi, was a joyful child who loved to laugh and play with her six-year-old sister. She shared that they had been excitedly preparing for their first family holiday, scheduled for July, and that Genevieve had been trying on her sunglasses and swimming costume the day before her death. She described her heartbreak, asking, “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.”

In a poignant moment, Genevieve’s six-year-old sister expressed her grief, stating, “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 his 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 of the dock as the victim impact statements were read. Her legal representative, Sarah Elliott KC, expressed that Roughley was “devastated” by her actions and felt remorseful, despite her refusal to accept full legal responsibility for Genevieve’s death.

Ms. Elliott also 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, sometimes leaving her responsible for between 11 and 16 babies alone. She emphasized that her client was “not a monster.” Nonetheless, Judge Ellenbogen made it clear that such factors could not justify or explain her conduct. She stated, “Your interactions with Genevieve on the 6 and 9 May palpably lacked any care, kindness or concern for her wellbeing,” underscoring the severity of the neglect and cruelty involved in this tragic case.