Woman found guilty of murdering one-year-old girl she was adopting

Nov 09, 2023

A woman has been found guilty of murdering a one-year-old girl she was in the process of adopting.

Katie Tidmarsh, 39, was convicted at Leicester Crown Court on Thursday of killing Ruby Thompson more than a decade ago. She is due to be sentenced at the same court on Friday.

The toddler had been in Tidmarsh’s foster care since her birth in 2011.

Tidmarsh and her husband were in the process of adopting Ruby when a 999 call was made from the family address in August 2012 saying she had suffered a seizure and was not breathing. She died two days later after suffering catastrophic brain damage.

Police said Tidmarsh claimed Ruby was injured after her eyes rolled back and she fell on to a thick rug she was sitting on.

But medical experts proved the injury was caused by shaking and a high-energy impact.

Medics treating Ruby spotted two previous fractures to her right shoulder on X-rays, as well as a broken arm which she was treated for two weeks before her death.

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Tidmarsh claimed the child had been knocked over by one of her dogs, causing the injury to her arm.

She had been arrested in 2012 but faced no further action until a judge ruled in 2017 that Tidmarsh had inflicted the injuries which resulted in Ruby’s collapse and death.

After further consultation between the police and the CPS and the instruction of extra medical experts, Tidmarsh was then charged with murder in 2022.

She was also charged with two counts of causing grievous bodily harm relating to the previous injuries to Ruby. The 39-year-old was found guilty of one of these charges and not guilty of the other.

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‘We never lost hope in seeking justice for Ruby’

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Sinski, who was the senior investigating officer, said: “It has taken over 10 years to get this case to court and reach a successful guilty verdict.

“We never lost hope in seeking justice for Ruby.

“The evidence presented to the court, evidence from some of the top medical experts in their respective fields, proved that Ruby’s head injury was caused by shaking and a high-energy impact and not from a low fall on to a thick rug as Tidmarsh had claimed.

“Tidmarsh has evaded justice since 2012 and will now be facing a lengthy sentence for her actions.

“This has clearly been a very sad and tragic case and on reaching this verdict, I hope that Ruby can finally rest in peace.”

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