A nursery in the West Midlands has admitted corporate manslaughter after a 14-month-old toddler suffocated while in its care, a case a senior prosecutor described as “every parent’s worst nightmare”. Fairytales Day Nursery Limited appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court and pleaded guilty to the charge, alongside a separate health and safety offence.
The court heard how Noah Sibanda died at the nursery on Bourne Street in Dudley on 9 December 2022. CCTV evidence showed that nursery practitioner Kimberley Cookson, 23, had tightly wrapped Noah in a sleeping bag, placed a blanket over his head, and laid him face down on a cushion. Prosecutors for the Crown Prosecution Service said Cookson also used the weight of her leg to restrain him for a period, in what appeared to be a deliberate effort to “make him sleep when he did not want to”.
‘A suffocating environment’
The Crown Prosecution Service outlined in detail the lethal consequences of these actions. Alex Johnson, a senior specialist prosecutor, said the “reckless and dangerous sleeping practices” created a “suffocating environment” which severely restricted Noah’s ability to breathe and move. He stated the practices posed an “obvious and serious risk of harm” from which a child of 14 months was unable to escape. After staff noticed Noah was not breathing, emergency services were called, but he was pronounced dead in hospital.
Kimberley Cookson, from Dudley, had previously pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter on 10 June 2025 in relation to her direct actions. The nursery’s director and owner, 55-year-old Deborah Latewood, also from Dudley, admitted a separate offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act. The basis of her plea, the court heard, was that she did not know children were being put down to sleep in such a dangerous manner, but that she should have known.
The guilty pleas from the company and Deborah Latewood were entered on 25 March 2026, avoiding a trial that had been scheduled for April. Fairytales Day Nursery Limited admitted failing to comply with its duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act, while Latewood admitted failing to comply with general duties as a director.
From ‘Outstanding’ to closed
The case has revealed a stark contrast between the nursery’s official ratings and the reality of its practices. Prior to the tragedy, Ofsted had rated Fairytales Day Nursery as “Good” in a report dated 23 January 2019, with earlier inspections finding it “Outstanding”. That last report stated that “Children’s safety and welfare are of the highest regard in this nursery.”
Following Noah’s death, Ofsted took swift action, suspending the nursery’s registration on 14 December 2022 over concerns children could be at risk of harm. The regulator then permanently cancelled its registration in April 2023. The nursery is no longer in operation and the company that ran it is in liquidation.
Noah’s parents have described their son as “a beautiful, happy and easy-going little boy”, adding “we miss him very much.” The investigation, handled by the CPS’s Special Crime Division, initially saw six women arrested, though four faced no further action.
All three defendants – Kimberley Cookson, Deborah Latewood, and Fairytales Day Nursery Limited – are due to be sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 16 April 2026.
