A nursery nurse has been convicted of neglect over the death of a toddler who died after she became trapped in a playhouse.
Two-year-old Rhiya Malin died of a heart attack caused by strangulation at the Eton Manor Day Nursery in Chigwell in 2007.
Nursery assistant Kayley Murphy, of Greenfields in Loughton, was found guilty of failing to ensure her safety at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday.
The court heard that immediately before Rhiya’s death, she was talking on her mobile phone.
Half an hour after children at the nursery were led to the garden there, staff brought them back inside and noticed Rhiya was missing.
She was found in the playhouse, hanging by her neck with her head trapped.
Karen Jacobs, 38, of Mill Lane, High Ongar, was cleared of health and safety charges.
Murphy is due to be sentenced on February 25.
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