THIS is the chilling moment a father who murdered his two-week-old son nonchalantly stepped outside to smoke a cigarette while doctors worked desperately to save the infant’s life.
Daniel Gunter, 25, caused his young son, Brendon, devastating injuries comparable to a fall from a high-rise, by violently smashing his head against a wall in a hospital’s specialized infant unit.
Gunter was convicted of murder today, whereas the baby’s mother, Sophie Staddon, 20, was acquitted of causing or permitting harm to her son at Yeovil District Hospital in March 2024.
A jury at Bristol Crown Court heard during the three week trial how Brendon had been born seven weeks prematurely.
But his condition improved and he was ready to be discharged to a mother and baby unit as they had no permanent home to go to.
On March 5, self-centred Daniel feared that he would be separated from the woman who he had controlled throughout their two-year relationship.
He blamed the young baby for leaving him alone and struck him with devastating consequences.
Pretending to be cuddling his son, Gunter is thought to have slammed the fragile baby’s body against a brick wall while holding onto his ankles.
His head was crushed so as to shatter his skull and he had a broken neck, jaw, legs, ankles and wrists.
Medical staff scooped up his limp and lifeless body and carried him to the resuscitation area a few paces from where he lay.
Doctors and nurses tried desperately to do everything they could but Brendon did not respond.
Dr Roger Malcolmson, a consultant paediatric and pathologist said that the damage equated to someone falling from a high-rise building or a high impact car crash
The jury was told how the young couple had met shortly after Staddon had left foster care and they had an on-off relationship and on occasion Mr Gunter would be violent towards Ms Staddon.
In the days after Brendon’s birth in February 2024, the couple were regularly at his bedside in the special care baby unit at Yeovil District Hospital.
It was there they were told by social workers that the baby was going to be taken into care when he was well enough to leave.
Nurses were aware of emotional tensions between Staddon and Gunter in the days after Brendon’s birth.
One of the nurses noted how Gunter would take Brendon out of his incubator without asking anyone as he was supposed to do.
And on another occasion, Staddon was found crying and saying she didn’t want to be with Gunter anymore.
In the hours before Brendon’s death, nurses had had to console Staddon who was crying and she explained she was upset because Gunter had told her that he was not the father.
Throughout the evening of March 4, the couple continued arguing over whether Gunter was Brendon’s real father and at one point Ms Staddon was heard shouting: “Just go leave me alone.”
After Gunter had killed the tot, footage showed him casually smoking a cigarette outside the hospital before police rushed up to arrest him.
Staddon could be heard saying: “No my baby’s dead. You’re telling me my baby’s dead. I didn’t kill my baby. It’s his dad. It wouldn’t be me. It would be his dad.”
The prosecution claimed that Gunter’s actions were born of frustration, rage and insecurity of not knowing if he was the father.
He was angry that Brendon was the reason why he and Staddon might be forced to live separately.
Gunter had come to the realisation that Brendon had the potential at least to be the focus of Staddon’s life, pushing him to the margins.
The detective leading the inquiry into Brendon death said the murder of the two-week-old baby would stay with her for the rest of her life.
Det Insp Nadine Partridge said: “I’ve never, in my 22 years experience seen injuries like this to a child.
“It’s unimaginable to me, causing harm to a child of any age but a precious two week old premature baby – it will still stay with me for the rest of my life.
“The only comfort I can take out of any of this is that he died very quickly.
“There was nothing the staff could have done.
“You wouldn’t imagine something like this happening in a hospital, and it is difficult to explain how it has happened.
“But what I can say about the staff, the nurses, the midwives, is they did everything they could to support Sophie and Daniel and Brendon, as did social services.
“Safeguards were put in place around Brendon and you just never would have thought that such significant physical harm would come to a child.
“The individual staff have been absolutely amazing.
“The trauma they must have suffered to be there then and having to try to revive Brandon despite his obvious injuries must have been terrible.
“It was obvious that he was unlikely to survive, yet they still tried.”
She added: “Gunter always came across as very selfish and self-centered.
“He didn’t say anything during the police interview and didn’t give evidence at trial.
“There was just no emotion from him whatsoever.
“Sophie had many vulnerabilities, and was certainly controlled by him to the point of him telling her what to eat and when to smoke.”
