Emily was supposed to be nursing newborns. Her Google history revealed something more sinister.

Emily Waters had one of the most important jobs in the world. As a private maternity nurse, she was trusted to care for newborns and help parents navigate the chaos of those early days at home.

On September 25, 2023, she walked into the home of John* and Sarah* as a godsend, hired to help care for their newborn twins. She handled night feeds and gave the exhausted parents a much-needed break.

Then, less than two weeks later, their world turned upside down.

One of the babies, referred to in court documents as Twin X, suffered a small bruise on their forehead while in Emily's care. When questioned, Emily had an explanation: the little one had "headbutted" her by accident during feeding.

It sounded reasonable enough, and John and Sarah had no reason to doubt her.

But two days later, in the early hours of October 6, Emily woke Sarah at 2am, saying something was wrong with Twin X. Panicked, John called 111 before rushing the five-week-old to the hospital with Emily.

Doctors quickly discovered Twin X had a fractured femur. But that was just the beginning.

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What followed was an investigation that horrified even seasoned medical professionals.

Twin X had seven rib fractures, a fractured skull and bruising on their forehead. Twin Y had 10 rib fractures. The findings were detailed in a damning court judgement.

Emily denied causing the injuries, except for the femur fracture and facial bruise, which she claimed were accidents. She told a doctor she had been feeding both twins at once, picked Twin X up to burp them, and "as she did so, X's leg may have been caught and twisted."

But the judge wasn't convinced — especially after reviewing Emily's phone records. Those records, referenced in court documents, saw Emily text a series of criticisms about the twins' parents.

"I don't rate her husband either," she wrote. "I'm exhausted already these twins are such hard work."

"X is just a pain," she added. "I've been so sh*t, but the last few weeks have been totally sh*t."

And, most chillingly: "Going to launch these twins out the window in a min."

Waters did not share her concerns nor struggles with the parents of the twins at the time.

The evening of October 5, 2023, appeared uneventful. At 10:23pm, Emily messaged a friend saying, "fed them at 8.45 and already crying for more milk".

Then, between 12:19am and 12:27pm she made several chilling Google searches.

"Broken leg baby."

"Broken leg newborn."

Waters' Google search history revealed a shocking detail. Image: Google.

Finally, at 1:36am, she messaged Sarah asking if she was awake. After 20 minutes, she called four times before eventually waking her up.

Emily claimed she had noticed something wrong with Twin X's leg but that the baby had only cried "a little, but not concerningly." The parents, however, described a very different scene: their newborn was screaming in pain and visibly distressed when their leg was touched.

Judge Rowe ruled that Emily had either known or strongly suspected she had broken Twin X's leg and had tried to hide the truth "knowing that the truth would be more harmful to her".

"By the night of 5/6 October 2023, Ms Waters was in a fragile state of mind, distracted by events in her private life, still angry about the fallout from her previous job, feeling unwelcome and isolated in the family home and finding the care of the twins absolutely exhausting," she said.

"The delay from 00.19 to 1.36 was inexcusable. I conclude that she felt guilty about what she had done and hoped that somehow X would settle and no-one need find out."

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In London's family court, Rowe ruled that medical professionals and the twins' parents had all agreed: Emily lied about what had happened, and she was responsible for the babies' injuries.

"They point to the fact that though Ms Waters obviously thought – or feared – that she had broken X's leg given her searches, she said nothing to the parents or the doctors at the hospital about a possible broken leg which emerged only on x-ray," the documents state, adding that she lied about the injuries to X's head.

She cleared the parents of any wrongdoing, saying she hoped they could put the traumatic time behind them.

"I suspect that the parents are wrestling with feelings of guilt, along with anger, about the harm done to their much-loved twins in their own home," she said.

"I hope they will put aside any feelings of guilt as they have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. They must not be influenced by hindsight.

"Finally, this family can start to live a normal life and, I hope, to start to put the case, the circumstances that led to the case and all of its distress behind them."

In February 2025, in an unprecedented move, the judge publicly named Emily, concluding that she remains a risk to other children.

Judge Rowe said it was in "powerful public interest" to reveal Emily's identity as very young children were "seriously injured" in her care, and she was not accountable to any professional organisation.

"I cannot rely on her say-so that she will not work with children again," she said.

Rowe added: "I acknowledge that publication will have a significant impact on Ms Waters. That is regrettable."

A police investigation was launched into the matter, but whether it remains ongoing is unclear.

*Names withheld in legal proceedings.

Feature image: Getty.