Caring façade of killer nursery worker: Smiling with a thank you sign next to the children she cared for, Kate Roughley, 37, appeared every inch the happy childcare worker but years later her disregard for safety led to baby's death

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  •  READ MORE: Devastated parents vow to ‘never forgive’ after their child’s death

Posing during the pandemic with colleagues and children with posters saying ‘thank you NHS’, Kate Roughley seemed every inch the caring nursery worker.

But far from having youngsters’ best interests at heart, jurors found the 37-year-old was cruel and callous, with her ill-treatment leading to the death of nine-month-old Genevieve Meehan.

Roughley had risen to become deputy manager at Tiny Toes and highly-experienced, having worked in childcare for 17 years after passing an apprenticeship.

Jurors in her trial at Manchester Crown Court heard she was ‘dedicated and diligent’ and had gained an NCQ Level Three qualification.

Her defence read two character-reference statements outlining Roughley’s career as a professional child carer.

In one post on social media Kate Roughley shared an image of her smiling with colleagues and children with a sign saying 'Thank You'

In one post on social media Kate Roughley shared an image of her smiling with colleagues and children with a sign saying ‘Thank You’

Roughley, pictured here drinking a glass of champagne, had risen to become deputy manager at Tiny Toes nursery in Stockport after 17 years in childcare

Roughley, pictured here drinking a glass of champagne, had risen to become deputy manager at Tiny Toes nursery in Stockport after 17 years in childcare

However, under her care the lifeless body of nine-month-old Genevieve was found at the nursery on the afternoon of May 9, 2022

However, under her care the lifeless body of nine-month-old Genevieve was found at the nursery on the afternoon of May 9, 2022

Roughley, pictured here arriving at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday, May 15, was found guilty of manslaughter

Roughley, pictured here arriving at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday, May 15, was found guilty of manslaughter

John Givens, who is married to Roughley’s niece, said he had known the nursery worker for 25 years.

He said that he had been the development manager for Stockport Council’s educational training centre and in 2003 had interviewed Roughley for a place on the child care apprenticeship programme.

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He said she was placed to a post at St Joseph’s RC primary school in Reddish, Stockport on a training allowance of £50 a week and had attended a training centre one day a week.

Mr Givens said: ‘Her success at St Joseph’s and her progress in her course work helped her to gain employment at Tiny Toes.

‘She was a dedicated and diligent student who was popular with her peers. I was very proud to see her become a confident and well rounded adult. She always has a smiling face and a positive outlook on life.’

Chris Mulroy, secretary of the Stockport Gateway Club for adults with learning disabilities, said Roughley had been helping as a volunteer since she was 14 years old.

He said: ‘I have know Kate all her life as her parents were helpers. She was 14 years old when she became a regular volunteer and she continued for 10 years.

‘I have been secretary since 1997 and , with my fellow officers, I have always monitored new volunteers in case of any problems.

‘Kate became an integral and important part of the team. In all her years with Gateway, I never had any issues with Kate.’

Current and former neighbours of Roughley described their shock at hearing of the prosecution and court case.

Roughley, of Heaton Norris, Stockport, faces years in prison after being unanimously found guilty

Roughley, of Heaton Norris, Stockport, faces years in prison after being unanimously found guilty 

Genevieve Meehan was strapped face down onto a bean bag for more than an hour-and-a-half

Genevieve Meehan was strapped face down onto a bean bag for more than an hour-and-a-half

John and Katie Meehan, the parents of Genevieve, outside Manchester Crown Court on Monday

John and Katie Meehan, the parents of Genevieve, outside Manchester Crown Court on Monday

Roughley has lived for over a decade in a mid-terraced, brick home in Heaton Norris, the Stockport suburb most famous as the supposed home of fictitious 1990s chat show host Mrs Merton, created by comedienne Caroline Aherne.

Neighbours said she has been living with a girlfriend but that the pair are ‘quiet and you hardly ever hear from them’.

The couple are believed to have participated in Stockport Pride last year and Roughley is thought to have been working at a local supermarket since Tiny Toes nursery closed down in the wake of Genevieve Meehan’s death.

A neighbour said: ‘She’s just completely normal. I’ve lived here 10 years and she’s lived here longer than that. She had a partner but we don’t hear much from her.’

In one social media post she uploaded a picture of her grinning with her retired bus company manager father as the pair posed as Santa and an elf in 2020.

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But the week before Genevieve’s death, Roughley posted a cryptic message: ‘Sometimes I feel bad for not calling or checking up on people but then I realize (sic) the phone works both ways and there ain’t nobody checking up on me.’

A resident on her parents’ quiet suburban street: ‘She’s just a normal person – there’s nothing bad to tell. She went to Reddish Vale High School, then college and has always worked in childcare. When she was younger, she used to play netball.

‘I’ve known her since primary school – I was really shocked to hear she had been charged. The idea she could do this, it’s just so out of character.’

The mother of one of Roughley’s best friends and colleagues at Tiny Toes called for the nursery’s owners to be held accountable.

The woman hit out at what she claimed was severe understaffing, with two staff looking after nine babies when they were supposed to care for only three each.

The woman, whose daughter worked with Roughley for a number of years, said: ‘They were there day after day looking after ten babies between the two of them and they were only supposed to have three. They were young girls and they have been screwed now.

‘I believe the evidence but she was put under so much pressure in the nursery that the nursery needs to be accountable.

‘What Kate has done is wrong, fair enough, but the nursery needs to be held accountable now.’

Genevieve Meehan was also tightly swaddled and covered with a blanket, the court heard

Genevieve Meehan was also tightly swaddled and covered with a blanket, the court heard

Genevieve was left "virtually immobilised" from 1.35pm to 3.12pm, CCTV footage revealed

Genevieve was left ‘virtually immobilised’ from 1.35pm to 3.12pm, CCTV footage revealed

The defendant's case was that Genevieve's death was a "terrible and unavoidable accident"

The defendant’s case was that Genevieve’s death was a ‘terrible and unavoidable accident’ 

John Meehan reads a statement to the media outside Manchester Crown Court on Monday afternoon

John Meehan reads a statement to the media outside Manchester Crown Court on Monday afternoon

Katie Meehan, Genevieve's mother
Katie Meehan, Genevieve's mother

Katie Meehan, Genevieve’s mother, cries while her husband makes a statement outside Manchester Crown Court on Monday

She added her daughter ‘is not allowed to be in touch with (Roughley)’.

The woman said: ‘She [my daughter] is not going to talk to anyone about Kate because they were best friends and for last two years they are not even allowed to speak, communicate so she is not going to talk to anyone.

‘What that nursery has done is destroy not only that baby’s life but the lives of the girls who worked there.

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‘They worked their butts off for that nursery and the staff have gone ‘ it’s nothing to do with us.’

During the trial, jurors heard how Genevieve Meehan’s devastated parents sought assurances ‘safety was paramount’ before sending their baby daughter to nursery for the first time – only weeks before her death.

Katie Meehan, a solicitor, said she and her barrister husband John Meehan had chosen Tiny Toes nursery as a stop gap for their ‘beautiful daughter’ because another nursery, which was their first choice, had no places until October.

Recalling conversations with managers at the nursery, Mrs Meehan said: ‘I explained that I was an anxious person and I asked a number of questions about safety and was reassured that all staff had regular first aid training.

‘I wanted to know that Genevieve would be cared for and that safety in the nursery was paramount.’

But weeks after starting at Tiny Toes, the nine-month-old was rushed to hospital after being found ‘unresponsive and blue’ on the afternoon of May 9, 2022.

In a statement Mrs Meehan said the weekend before Genevieve’s death was ‘the most wonderful’ of the baby’s life.

She had taken a few steps on her own and had started ‘babbling away,’ saying ‘Dada, dada,’ she said.

Nursery nurse Kate Roughley arrives at Manchester Crown Court on Monday ahead of the verdict

Nursery nurse Kate Roughley arrives at Manchester Crown Court on Monday ahead of the verdict

Kate Roughley's father Stuart and mother Jane leave Manchester Crown Court on Monday

Kate Roughley’s father Stuart and mother Jane leave Manchester Crown Court on Monday 

Kate Roughley (left) arrives at Manchester Crown Court last Friday with her parents

Kate Roughley (left) arrives at Manchester Crown Court last Friday with her parents

Roughley was working at Tiny Toes nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport (file picture)

Roughley was working at Tiny Toes nursery in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport (file picture)

Although her daughter had been in hospital for a week until April 30 with a chest infection, she had got back to her ‘bright, alert and mischievous self’ and there were ‘no concerns’ about her health when she was dropped off at nursery on the day of her death.

Mrs Meehan said she and Genevieve’s father, John Meehan, were ‘obsessive’ about safe sleeping practices.

In a separate statement, Mr Meehan described how he rushed to Stepping Hill Hospital, near Stockport, after being telephoned by his wife, to say their daughter was unwell.

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He told the court he arrived before Genevieve, who was being blue-lighted in an ambulance, and Mrs Meehan, who was taken to the hospital in a police car.

‘I was waiting outside A&E as the ambulance arrived,’ said Mr Meehan, 38, a barrister specialising in property law based at King’s Chambers, Manchester.

‘He (a paramedic) opened the doors of the ambulance and I could see that CPR was being conducted on Genevieve.

‘I remained at the hospital as the doctors were trying to save Genevieve.

‘I recall having a conversation with the police officers and doctors that I didn’t want Katie to see this.

‘We were told that they were going to stop CPR and they could not save Gigi.’

Mrs Meehan, known professionally as Katie Wheeler, and a solicitor with Manchester-based personal injury and employment law specialists Slater & Gordon, described Genevieve as a ‘beautiful’ daughter, who was ‘a complete person and a real individual.’

Their family was ‘very happy and complete’ when she was born, she said, which was ‘something she cherished.’

‘Owing to her beautiful French name she adopted a French persona in our house and often used to speak – voiced by me – all in French with a French accent, which really became part of her character,’ Mrs Meehan added.

‘We used to joke that it would be very strange when she started to talk properly and wouldn’t actually sound French.’