Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Six women held over ‘suspicious’ death of one-year-old boy at nursery

West Midlands Police said a criminal investigation was launched after the death in Dudley on December 9.

Richard Vernalls
Thursday 05 January 2023 16:07 GMT
(Dave Thompson/PA)
(Dave Thompson/PA) (PA Archive)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The death of a one-year-old boy at a nursery is being treated as “suspicious” by police, with six women arrested in connection with the incident.

West Midlands Police said a criminal investigation was launched after the boy’s death on December 9 and a subsequent Ofsted inspection.

The nursery, in Bourne Street, Dudley, has since been shut down by the education watchdog.

The force said three women – aged 20, 23 and 50 – were arrested on December 16 on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter and later bailed.

Three more women – aged 51, 53 and 37 – were detained on Wednesday, two on suspicion of corporate manslaughter and one on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

In a statement, police said: “We are treating the death of a one-year-old boy on 9 December at a Dudley nursery as suspicious and an investigation is under way.

“The boy’s family is being supported by specially trained officers.

“A post-mortem has taken place but further tests will be conducted to establish the exact cause of death.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in