Nurse Jailed After Leaving Baby Home Alone, Leading to His Death
Ruth Auta, 28, a nurse, has been sentenced to three years in prison after her 10-week-old son, Joshua Akerele, died when she left him alone at her nurses' accommodation at the Royal Bolton Hospital. On 20 December 2022, Auta left her baby shortly after 06:30 GMT to go to work and returned over eight hours later, at 15:13. She called an ambulance at 15:24, reporting that Joshua was not breathing. Despite resuscitation efforts, he was pronounced dead at 16:40.
At Bolton Crown Court, Auta pleaded guilty to child cruelty. The court heard that no conclusive cause of death could be determined for Joshua, who was otherwise a healthy baby. It was suggested that he may have overheated due to being wrapped in multiple layers of clothing and bedding, although other potential causes of death could not be ruled out.
Initially, Auta falsely claimed that she had collected Joshua from a childminder after work and found him unresponsive after falling asleep beside him. However, CCTV footage contradicted her story, showing Auta leaving her flat without Joshua in the morning and returning alone in the afternoon. Messages on her phone revealed that Auta had asked the childminder to lie to the police, but the childminder stated she had not seen Joshua for several days.
Auta was charged with cruelty to a child and pleaded guilty at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on 24 May. The case was adjourned for sentencing on 21 June, but Auta was arrested on 6 June at Gatwick Airport while attempting to flee to Nigeria on a one-way ticket. Her actions, described in court as a “terrible decision,” led to her three-year sentence, reflecting the gravity of her neglect and subsequent attempt to evade justice.
