Katie Tidmarsh convicted of murder of one-year-old Ruby Thompson after plans to adopt child

A woman has been convicted of killing a one-year-old child more than 10 years after the murder.

Katie Tidmarsh, 39, was found guilty of the murder of infant Ruby Thompson after a trial at Leicester Crown Court. Ruby's died in August 2012, when authorities received a call stating that the infant had suffered a seizure and was not breathing.

Ruby was staying with the family after time in foster care. Tidmarsh and her husband had taken Ruby in March 2012 and were in the process of adopting her at the time of her death, however the legal adoption had not been finalised.

Ruby was taken to hospital, where she was examined and found to have catastrophic brain damage. Upon further examination, it was found that the infant had sustained a broken bone in her arm two weeks prior. Ruby was taken to hospital when the injury happened, with Tidmarsh telling doctors that she had been knocked over by one of her dogs.

The child died in hospital two days after she was taken in following reports of a seizure. A post-mortem found that she had sustained a blunt force trauma injury to her head. Fractures were also found in the upper part of her right arm - the same injury which Tidmarsh had taken the child to the hospital for weeks prior.

Tidmarsh and a man were arrested on suspicion of murder, however both maintained that the man had been outside of property when Tidmarsh told him that Ruby was no longer breathing. She told police that she had been lying beside Ruby on a rug when her eyes rolled back and she fell backwards.

Police submitted a report to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), suggesting a charge for murder. However this was dismissed by the CPS in February 2014 and both Tidmarsh and the man were released from police bail with no further action.

An inquest into Ruby's death at a later date found that she died as a result of a head injury. In 2017, Tidmarsh was subject to separate court proceedings regarding Ruby's death and she was arrested once again arrested in 2022 charged with her murder and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm. She was convicted of one count of grievous bodily harm and murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Sinski, who was the senior investigating officer, said that his team had "never lost hope in seeking justice for Ruby". He said: “The evidence presented to the court, evidence from some of 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 in taking the life of a young child, a child who was placed in her care to give her what was believed to be a better life."