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Bolton nurse whose 10-week-old baby died after being left home alone jailed
Emily Sergeant -
16th September 2024 
A nurse whose 10-week-old baby died after being left home alone for more than eight hours has been jailed.
Ruth Auta appeared at Bolton Crown Court last week (Tuesday 10 September), where the court heard that she left her nurses’ accommodation shortly after 6:30am on 20 December 2022 to carry out her shift at Royal Bolton Hospital – leaving behind her son, Joshua Akerele, in the process.
The 28-year-old returned more than eight hours later, and then, at 3:24pm, called for an ambulance reporting that her son “was not breathing”.
Despite attempts by paramedics to resuscitate him, Joshua sadly could not be saved and was pronounced dead at 4:40pm, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) revealed.
Experts could not confirm the cause of Joshua’s death, and say he was “a healthy baby in all respects”.
It’s thought that he may have overheated due to the layers of clothing and bedding he was wrapped in, but other potential causes of death “could not be ruled out”.
Nurse, Ruth Auta, 28, left her 10-week-old baby, Joshua, home alone for over 8 hours while she worked her shift at Royal Bolton Hospital in December 2022.
— CPS North West (@CPS_NorthWest) September 11, 2024
She has been jailed for 3 years.
More: https://t.co/s1gOrU8eAq pic.twitter.com/AQP6dWDVEB
Auta initially told the police that she had collected Joshua from a childminder after she had finished work, and then took him back home, fed him, placed him on her bed and fell asleep next to him, before claiming that it was when she woke up she found him unresponsive, however, police seized CCTV footage showing Auta leaving her flat at 6:47am without her baby and returning home alone at 3:13pm.
Messages to the childminder asking her to tell the police she had looked after Joshua that day were also found on on Auta’s phone, but the childminder told officers she had not seen Joshua for a few days.
In her police interview, Auta gave no comment to the questions asked. She was released on bail whilst a full police investigation was carried out.
Despite the fact Auta gave no comment to the questions asked in her police interview, she was charged with cruelty to a child and pleaded guilty at Manchester Magistrates Court on 24 May 2024, with case adjourned to 21 June 2024 for sentence, and finally sentenced to three years in prison at Bolton Crown Court last week.
Sara added “Ruth Auta has failed to show remorse throughout the case; she misled police about her childcare arrangements and then tried to evade justice by attempting to flee the country.
— CPS North West (@CPS_NorthWest) September 11, 2024
“Our thoughts and sympathies are with all those who been affected by Joshua’s death.”
Speaking following the sentencing last week, Sara Davie, who is the District Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, 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.
“As a nurse she should have known the dangers of leaving her baby unattended. As she begins her sentence, she must now live with the consequences of the terrible decision she made that day.
“Auta has failed to show remorse throughout the case, she misled police about her childcare arrangements, and then tried to evade justice by attempting to flee the country.
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“Our thoughts and sympathies are with all those who been affected by Joshua’s death.”
Featured Image – GMP
