Good morning, these are the latest ECHO headlines today.
Tiny baby dies after dad finds her on living room floor
A mum and dad are seeking answers over the death of their tiny baby daughter.
Jacob, known as Jake, and Megan Oakley, from Runcorn, were taking shifts during the night to watch their six-week-old daughter Cassidy in September 2021, after Jake had had post-spinal surgery. On September 5, their lives were changed forever when tragedy struck.
Jake said young Cassidy was placed on a baby pillow on a small footstool surrounded by pillows and blankets before he fell asleep at around 11pm. But after half an hour he said he was woken by what he saw as a "higher force", as Cassidy was no longer there.
READ MORE: 'Bubbly' girl, 12, died suddenly as she played in park with her family
He told the ECHO: "I can only describe it as a higher force because there was no crying or noise, she just wasn't there. I wondered if Meg had taken her upstairs but then I saw the pink onesie and she'd fallen. She wasn't breathing or responding. I'd been sleeping downstairs because I couldn't get upstairs after surgery, but I ran up to the bedroom and immediately called 999 while I carried out CPR."
Jake said he believed Cassidy had suffered a heart attack which led to her falling from the stool to the floor, and she was rushed to Warrington Hospital where her parents say she became stable. Jake said an initial post-mortem examination showed she suffered a second heart attack, resulting in brain damage.
Read the full story here.
Mum stole £250k and spent it on lavish holidays and designer clothes
A mum stole a quarter of a million pounds from her employers and splurged it on holidays, jewellery and designer clothes.
Angela Boote was a long term employee at insurance brokers Griffiths and Armour but used her role managing some of the company’s banking functions to take cash for herself. She sent payments intended for clients to numerous personal accounts, including those of one of her daughters and one she shared with her husband, though there was no suggestion they were involved in the scheme.
The 52-year-old, who has two children, looked down silently in the dock as she was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, Sarah Griffin, prosecuting, said Boote had worked for her employers since 1994 and many of her colleagues regarded her as a trusted member of staff at the firm, whose clients ranged from charities to NHS trusts.
READ MORE: Dog walker left two dogs to die in car during heatwave
Ms Griffin said: “By March 2016, Mrs Boote was responsible for credit control, managing the company bank and credit control functions. She initiated payments to clients in respect of refunds or overpayments of insurance premiums.”
Yet in early 2017 she began a campaign of theft that ultimately saw her redirect £255,854.32 to four accounts linked to her. Ms Griffin said that rather than sending money for refunds to clients’ accounts, Boote would send them to four accounts linked to herself before creating elaborate paper trails to cover up her dishonesty.
Read the full story from our court reporter here.
Boy woke to find paedophile in his bed performing sex act on him
A boy who woke to find a paedophile performing a sex act on him has finally got justice - nearly 20 years later.
The victim, then aged just 14, was sexually abused by Jeff Knibb while he slept one night in the early 2000s. But when he told his mum, a judge said it seemed she "didn't want to take matters further and said he shouldn't be saying things like that".
Two decades later, the now adult victim saw a report in the ECHO in September 2019 about Knibb being jailed for similar sexual offences. Knibb, 50, from Huyton, had been locked up for nine years for molesting two boys - one while he was sleeping - in the 1980s and 1990s.
READ MORE: Paedophile laughed and threatened girls who begged him to stop abuse
Liverpool Crown Court heard seeing Knibb's face in the ECHO made the victim physically sick - but our coverage also led to him making a formal complaint to the police. Martine Snowdon, prosecuting, said the boy told officers how he had woken up to find Knibb in his bed molesting him.
She said: "The defendant appeared to be shocked to be discovered and told him to go back to sleep." Ms Snowdon said a victim personal statement outlined how "terrifying" the abuse was at the time and how anxious it left the boy feeling.
She told the court the victim described in particular "the impact he felt when he saw the report of the other offences in the newspaper".
Read the full story here.
