Murder-accused father 'was really rough with two-week-old baby'

BBC News

5 hours ago

A father who is accused of murdering his premature baby would shout and get angry at the infant, a jury has heard.Daniel Gunter, 27, "had no patience" with the two-week-old and was "really rough with him", the father's aunt told Bristol Crown Court.The baby, Brendon Staddon, suffered "catastrophic injuries" to his head, neck, legs and jaw while in a special care unit at Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset on 5 March last year. He died on the same day.Mr Gunter and the baby's mother, Sophie Staddon, 23, both of no fixed address, deny charges of murder and causing or allowing the child's death.
Mr Gunter's aunt, Louise Besica, said she first visited her great-nephew in hospital on 22 February last year, two days after his birth, and again on 24 February.On the first occasion, she said Mr Gunter became angry after being told by a nurse he had to wait 20 minutes to pick up his son, because the infant had just been fed through his nasogastric tube."His words were, 'It's not up to the nurses to tell me what to do'," she told the court."He went red in the face and his voice had gone higher. He was saying he was his baby and he should be allowed to change him."She said his voice was "loud" and he was "walking around a lot, and huffing and puffing".On her second visit, Ms Besica said Mr Gunter got angry when Brendon urinated on him as he changed his nappy."He said, 'For God's sake'," she told the court. "He said it in a quite shouty, really quite loud [manner], and I asked to take over."She said he was "really rough" in his handling of Brendon and this caused him to cry, which further "frustrated" his father.
'He controlled things'
Ms Besica told the court that during her first visit, the baby's mother was "sat in a chair in the corner like she wasn't interested or really bothered".When asked about any changes in the mother's demeanour when Mr Gunter was present, Ms Besica replied: "Yes, when she was with me she was chattier, and more happy."When Daniel was there she was more quiet and it was more Daniel doing the talking. "He spoke for her sometimes, I noticed."She also described seeing Mr Gunter ordering food for the mother."That made me feel like that she wasn't able to speak for herself, like he had taken over, like he controlled things," Ms Besica said.She told the court she had asked a nurse at the hospital to "keep an eye on them", out of concern for the child's safety.A post-mortem examination found Brendon died of "blunt force impact(s) head injury" with multiple non-accidental injuries to the head.The trial continues.