She Left Her 10-Week-Old Baby Home Alone to Go to Work—Returned to Find Him Not Breathing
A nurse who left her 10-week-old son alone at home while she worked an eight-hour shift has been jailed after her baby tragically died. Ruth Auta, 28, left her son, Joshua Akerele, unattended in her accommodation while she worked at Royal Bolton Hospital. Upon returning home, she found Joshua unresponsive and not breathing.
Despite calling paramedics, efforts to resuscitate the baby were unsuccessful, and Joshua was pronounced dead at the scene. When questioned by police, Auta initially lied, claiming she had picked Joshua up from a childminder after her shift, fed him, and fell asleep next to him. She told officers that when she woke up, Joshua was unresponsive. However, the police later discovered that the childminder had not seen Joshua for several days.
Bolton Crown Court heard that CCTV footage captured Auta leaving her nurses’ accommodation at 6:30 a.m. on December 20, 2022, before returning more than eight hours later. The court was told that Joshua had been healthy, but experts could not determine the exact cause of death. One possibility was that he overheated due to the layers of clothing and bedding he was wrapped in, although other causes could not be ruled out, told Manchester Evening News.
After the childminder’s statement, Auta was arrested but initially provided no comment during police questioning. She was later released on bail while further investigations were conducted. Auta was eventually charged with cruelty to a child and pleaded guilty in Manchester Magistrates’ Court on May 24, 2023.
On June 6, Auta was arrested at Gatwick Airport while attempting to flee the country on a one-way ticket to Nigeria. She was sentenced to three years in prison at Bolton Crown Court.
Sara Davie, 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.”
Davie added, “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. Our thoughts and sympathies are with all those affected by Joshua’s death.” Auta must now live with the consequences of her actions as she begins her prison sentence.