She left her 10-week-old baby home alone while she went to work. When she came back he'd stopped breathing

A nurse whose 10-week-old baby died after she left him home alone while she went to work has been jailed.

Ruth Auta left her son Joshua Akerele unattended while she did an eight-hour shift at Royal Bolton Hospital. But when she returned home he wasn't breathing.

The 28-year-old called paramedics, but despite efforts to resuscitate Joshua, tragically he was pronounced dead at the scene. When police were called Auta initially lied and told them she had collected Joshua from his childminder's after her shift.

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She claimed she took him home, fed him, placed him on her bed and then fell asleep next to him. She said when she woke up he was unresponsive. But when police contacted the childminder she told officers she had not seen Joshua for a few days.

Bolton Crown Court heard CCTV captured Auta leaving her nurses' accommodation to go to work shortly after 6.30am on December 20, 2022, before returning just over eight hours later.

Experts could not confirm the cause of Joshua’s death. He was said to have been a healthy baby in all respects.

The court heard 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.

Following the childminder's interview, Auta was arrested and gave no comment answers during her police interview. She was released on bail while a full police investigation was carried out.

She was charged with cruelty to a child and pleaded guilty at Manchester magistrates' court on May 24. On June 6 Auta, of no fixed abode, was arrested at Gatwick Airport while attempting to board a flight to Nigeria.

She had bought a one-way ticket.