A father who inflicted catastrophic injuries to the head, neck and jaw of his 14-day-old son while he in a special care baby unit, has been jailed for a minimum of 20 years.
Warning: This story contains reports of graphic violence.
A detective working on the case said there “wasn’t a part of Brendon’s body that was left unharmed in this brutal assault”.
Daniel Gunter, 27, was found guilty of baby Brendon’s murder following a three-week trial at Bristol Crown Court.
Mr Justice Swift told the court: “Brendon sustained multiple injuries to the front of his head and face, chin, nose, eyes and cheek, to his skull, to his neck, his torso, his left hand, legs and feet – fractures caused by twisting and pulling – and significant internal bleeding.
“Put in simple terms, very severe force was brought to bear on Brendon. His skull was shattered and his neck was broken.
“One way in which these injuries could have occurred was if Brendon had been held by his legs and swung forcefully, causing his head and neck to move excessively and his head to impact multiple times on a blunt object or surface.”
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Parents smoking outside
Yeovil District Hospital staff discovered Brendon on 5 March last year, fatally injured in his cot after his mother, Sophie Staddon, 21, told nurses he was cold at about 4am.
The baby, who was born at 33 weeks’ gestation and weighed 1.83kg at birth, was carried to the resuscitation area but did not respond to treatment and was pronounced dead at 4.59am.
His parents, who left the unit to smoke outside the hospital while doctors and nurses worked on their son, were arrested a short time later.
Ms Staddon was acquitted of causing or allowing Brendon’s death.
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The judge described Brendon as a “highly vulnerable victim” murdered by his own father, who was meant to be responsible for his care and safety, while in a hospital setting.
He found the murder was one of “excessive violence”, given the extent of Brendon’s injuries and the way they had been inflicted upon him.
‘So tiny and perfect’
Mr Justice Swift also ruled the killing was pre-meditated, with Gunter inflicting the fatal injuries without alerting nurses who were at a nearby station at the time.
Referring to the victim impact statements from Brendon’s grandparents, the judge said: “Each has been and will continue to be deeply affected by his death, and neither can understand the reason for these shocking events.
“No sentence that I could pass today could possibly ease their grief at Brendon’s death.
“The sentence I pass is in no way intended as a measure of the value of his life, and I hope his family and others affected by his death will not regard it as such.”
In his statement, Gunter’s father Simon Gunter described the devastating impact of his death.
“He was so tiny but so beautiful, he was just perfect,” it read.
“Brendon was my first grandson from my first born child. As a family, we were so happy and excited.
“We will never see his first crawl, his first steps or his first word. He didn’t even have a chance to give us his first smile.”
He said “time stopped still” when he was informed Brendon had died – and he had been unable to speak to his son since.
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Charles Row KC, prosecuting the case, told the court Gunter was controlling towards Ms Staddon and questioned whether he was Brendon’s biological father.
Medical experts described Brendon’s injuries as “akin to a fall from a multi-storey building”, Mr Row added.
“There was a intention to kill demonstrated by the sheer brutality of the attack,” he said.
Andrew Langdon, representing Gunter, said his client had a very low IQ and was “immature for his age”.
He said his childhood was “disruptive” and that he had been excluded from school after running away.
Before Brendon’s birth, Staddon and Gunter were told authorities planned to remove the baby from their care when he was born.
Safeguarding review
Speaking outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Nadine Partridge of Avon and Somerset Police, described Gunter’s actions as “utterly horrific”.
“There wasn’t a part of Brendon’s body that was left unharmed in this brutal assault,” she said.
“Just the thought that someone could be capable of doing what Daniel did to a tiny baby is incomprehensible.”
She added that the case was “one of the most harrowing investigations our team has ever faced”.
A spokesperson for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said the case had been “extremely distressing”.
“Our thoughts continue to be with his wider family.”
They said the Trust was part of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review, along with other agencies, that will investigate the circumstances.
