A Nigerian nurse working in the UK who abandoned her ten-week-old child to die while she went to a hospital has been sentenced to three years in prison.
On December 20, 2022, Ruth Auta, a 28-year-old mother, left Joshua Akerele alone in her nursing home for eight hours in order to work her shift, according to Mail Online.
Upon her return from work, she discovered her baby dead in his cot. She immediately called 999, informing the operators that her child was not breathing.
After an hour, the baby was declared dead, and examinations revealed that the layers of clothes and bedding he was wrapped in might have caused him to “overheat.”
When the police first spoke with Auta, she said that she had picked up Joshua from a childminder after work, brought him home, fed him, put him in her bed, and then dozed off next to him.
She said that he was not responding when she woke up.
Auta was released on bail pending additional investigation after refusing to respond to questions during her police interrogation later on.
After authorities discovered CCTV footage showed Auta leaving and entering her flat on the day of the tragedy without Joshua, Auta was accused.
Incriminating texts in which she pleaded with her childminder to claim that she was watching Joshua that day were also found by the officers.
The babysitter reported to the police that she hadn’t seen the child in a few days.
The nurse who worked at Royal Bolton Hospital attempted to leave the country on June 6 but was detained at Gatwick while attempting to board the flight to her Nigeria, having purchased a one-way ticket. Auta was charged with cruelty to a child and entered a guilty plea at Manchester Magistrates’ court on May 24, 2024, with her case postponed by one month for sentencing.
When Auta appeared at Bolton Crown Court on September 10, she was given a sentence of three years in prison.
“While she went to work to provide care for other people, Ruth Auta left the very person who needed her care the most alone at home,” stated Sara Davie, District Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West.
‘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.
‘Our thoughts and sympathies are with all those who been affected by Joshua’s death.’
According to the prosecution, she left her Joshua behind when she left her nursing home just after 630 a.m. to work her shift.
When Auta realised her son wasn’t breathing at 3:24 p.m., she dialled 911.
Joshua was declared dead at 4:40 p.m. after attempts at resuscitation failed.
In January of this year, an inquest investigating Joshua’s death was held in Bolton and then adjourned.
