Latest news with #BrendonStaddon
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
'How can you say that we killed our baby?' Court hears what parents told police after two-week-old son died from 'catastrophic' injuries in hospital neonatal unit
The parents of a two-week-old boy who died of 'catastrophic' injuries in a hospital neonatal unit asked police 'how can you say that we killed our baby' after his death. Daniel Gunter, 27, and Sophie Staddon, 23, are both accused of murder and causing or allowing their son's passing on March 5 last year. Little Brendon Staddon suffered injuries to his head, neck, legs and jaw while on the ward at the Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset. Bristol Crown Court heard nurses discovered Brendon's injuries - described as 'catastrophic' by the prosecution - after Staddon reported her son as being cold and asked them to check on him. 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. Today, jurors at Bristol Crown Court were read transcripts of interviews Staddon and Gunter had with police after their arrest. Staddon told police she had been woken in the night by Gunter telling her to inform nurses that Brendon was cold. She said: 'I went to check him. I felt him. He was cold. I told the nurses. They turned the light on and saw he was blue. 'I started crying. Dan pulled me away and said 'let them do their job'. I was crying and really upset. Dan was also upset. 'Doctors and nurses came in and surrounded Brendon.' Staddon said the couple initially waited inside before going out for some fresh air, with police officers arresting them a short time later. 'I remember asking if they were telling me my baby was dead,' she said in interview. 'I had done nothing to harm Brendon at all. I love him. He was my everything. I would not have harmed him.' After his arrest, Gunter was recorded as saying: 'How can you say that we killed our baby?' and 'That kid was my world, I would do anything for him'. In a statement provided to police at interview, Gunter described how Staddon had been sleeping in a bed while he was in a chair, with Brendon's cot behind a screen. He told how he heard the baby do a 'little cry' at about 3am and checked on him. 'He was in his cot, on his back,' Gunter said. 'He was white. We touched his skin and he was cold and white. 'We didn't lift him out of the cot. We went to get the nurse. They came in and said he was not alright. 'This was the last time I saw my baby.' He added: 'At no stage did I do anything to Brendon that could have caused him any injury. 'I was with Sophie the whole time and she didn't do anything either.' In a separate statement, Gunter said: 'I would never hurt my baby boy.' A post-mortem examination found Brendon died of 'blunt force impact(s) head injury' with multiple non-accidental injuries to the head. Earlier in the trial, Charles Row KC, prosecuting, told jurors that the baby was covered in bruises to his face, scalp, chest and abdomen, shoulder, hands, legs and feet. 'There was hardly a part of his body that was spared,' Mr Row said. The jury heard that Gunter and Staddon had an on-off relationship, with allegations that he was violent towards her on occasion. In January 2024, a social worker visited the couple and told them authorities were planning to remove the baby from their care when he was born. Gunter and Staddon, both of no fixed address, deny charges of murder and causing or allowing Brendon's death. The trial continues.
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Yeovil parents accused of murdering baby son deny harming him
Parents accused of murdering their premature baby in a special care hospital unit told police they did not harm him, a court has Staddon suffered injuries to his jaw, head, neck and legs at Yeovil District Hospital, Somerset, on 5 March Gunter, 27, and Sophie Staddon, 23, are on trial at Bristol Crown Court accused of his murder, and causing or allowing the two-week-old boy's pair, of no fixed address, deny the charges against them. The jury heard how nurses discovered Brendon's injuries - described as "catastrophic" by the prosecution - after Ms Staddon told hospital staff her son was cold, and asked them to check on who was born at 33 weeks, weighing 1.83kg at birth (4lb), did not respond to treatment and was pronounced dead at 04:59 Wednesday, jurors were read transcripts of Mr Gunter and Ms Staddon's police interviews after they were Staddon said: "I went to check him. I felt him. He was cold. I told the nurses. They turned the light on and saw he was blue."I started crying. Dan pulled me away and said 'let them do their job'. I was crying and really upset. Dan was also upset."Doctors and nurses came in and surrounded Brendon."The couple were arrested after going outside to get some fresh air. 'He was my world' "I remember asking if they were telling me my baby was dead," said Ms Staddon."I had done nothing to harm Brendon at all. I love him. He was my everything. I would not have harmed him."After his arrest, Mr Gunter was recorded as saying: "How can you say that we killed our baby?" and "That kid was my world, I would do anything for him."In a separate statement, he said: "I would never hurt my baby boy."A post-mortem examination found Brendon died of "blunt force impact(s)" from "non-accidental head injuries".The trial continues.
BBC News
5 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Baby dead for '30 mins before murder-accused parents raised alarm'
A premature baby found with injuries to his head and neck would have been dead for at least 30 minutes before his parents raised the alarm, a consultant neonatologist told a Staddon, who was born at 33 weeks, suffered multiple fractures while in Somerset's Yeovil District Hospital's special care baby unit in March 2024 at just two weeks 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 David Sweet, who reviewed baby Brendon's death, said that it usually takes 30 minutes for a newborn's heart to stop completely after being deprived of oxygen. A post-mortem concluded Brendon died of a "blunt force impact(s) head injury," with multiple "non-accidental injuries", the court was was later found to have, amongst other injuries, a broken neck, a broken jaw, broken legs, broken ankles and broken staff discovered his injuries when Ms Staddon asked them to check on him because "he was cold" at 4:00 GMT on 5 March, the jury was Sweet, who has 24 years' experience within the NHS, said that a baby can usually be resuscitated if they are discovered within five or 10 minutes after they stop breathing. "I would say (Brendan's) heart was completely stopped when nursing staff discovered him at 4am and I would suggest that it would have been a minimum of 25 to 30 minutes after the injuries occurred," he being seven weeks premature, Brendan was doing well and would have been expected to go on to have a normal life, Dr Sweet court previously heard that while in hospital, Mr Gunter repeatedly ignored the advice of nurses and removed him from his incubator. He also allegedly overstimulated him to the point of causing him distress and removed his nasal gastric tube, and reportedly shouted at him and became frustrated with him when changing his nappy."The usual desire when babies are born prematurely is to let them rest and disturb them as little as possible, usually the lights are kept low and the noise level is kept down and too much stimulation can be distressing," Dr Sweet said the nature of Brendon's limb fractures were consistent with "excessive pulling and twisting beyond what would be considered acceptable handling of an infant".The trial continues.
BBC News
05-07-2025
- BBC News
Murder-accused father 'was really rough with two-week-old baby'
A father who is accused of murdering his premature baby would shout and get angry at the infant, a jury has Gunter, 27, "had no patience" with the two-week-old and was "really rough with him", the father's aunt told Bristol Crown 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 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 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 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 trial continues.
Telegraph
01-07-2025
- Telegraph
Parents of two-week-old baby ‘went for cigarette after shattering his skull'
The parents of a two-week-old baby shattered his skull and then went for a cigarette as nurses tried to resuscitate him, a court heard. Brendon Staddon suffered 'catastrophic injuries' to his head, neck, legs and jaw, while in the special care baby unit at the Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset on March 5 last year. His parents, Daniel Gunter, 27, and Sophie Staddon, 23, are both accused of murder and causing or allowing Brendon's death. Bristol Crown Court heard hospital staff had discovered the boy's injuries after Staddon told nurses her son was cold and asked them to check on him. While the staff tried to save Brendon, his parents walked outside for a cigarette, said Charles Row KC, prosecuting. 'Staff found him lying in his cot with his baby grow open,' Mr Row said. 'They immediately saw that he wasn't just cold but that he had suffered catastrophic injuries. 'In plain language, his head had been crushed so as to shatter his skull. He was badly bruised from head to toe, with deep scratches in his neck. 'He was later found to have, amongst other injuries, a broken neck, a broken jaw, broken legs, broken ankles and broken wrists.' 'Ignored the advice of nurses' The prosecution said staff carried his 'limp, lifeless body' to the resuscitation area, but Brendon did not respond to treatment. Gunter and Staddon were arrested by the police while smoking outside. Mr Row said that before Brendon died, social services and Gunter's family were worried about the 'lack of emotional warmth' the couple showed their child. When Brendon was born on Feb 20, 2024, attempts were made to persuade Staddon to stay in the hospital, but she went back to the temporary accommodation she shared with Gunter. While in hospital, Gunter repeatedly ignored the advice of nurses, taking Brendon out of the incubator without asking, overstimulating the child to the point of causing him distress and removing his nasal gastric tube. Severe head injury Mr Row said the jury needed to understand the 'sheer brutality' involved in the death. A post-mortem examination found Brendon died of 'blunt force impact(s) head injury' with multiple non-accidental injuries to the head. 'There was hardly a part of his body that was spared,' Mr Row said. The prosecutor referred to a report from Dr Roger Malcolmson, a consultant paediatric and perinatal pathologist, which suggested a severe impact head injury. '(The injuries are) consistent with a severe crush injury – like a cathode ray type television falling on a child's head,' Mr Row said. 'Upset and panicking' On the day Brendon died, Gunter asked for milk to feed Brendon at around 3am. Half an hour later, a nurse asked if they were alright, with Gunter answering in a way she 'considered odd'. 'His reply did not seem natural to her,' Mr Row said. 'He seemed excited, his response was unusually animated, and he was nodding exaggeratedly. '(The nurse) thought later that it was as if he didn't want her to go over to her.' Just after 4am Staddon approached the nursing admin station to tell them Brendon was cold. Mr Row said: 'Ms Staddon called out to Mr Gunter, 'I don't know if he is alive or not'. 'Mr Gunter said, 'he's fine, babe, he's fine'. 'Ms Staddon was upset and panicking, particularly when she heard that Brendon was not breathing. She replied, 'he's not fine'.' Staddon began 'crying hysterically', saying she wanted to see her baby, but Gunter told her to 'let them do what they need to do'. Controlling behaviour While nurses began CPR, the couple went outside for a cigarette and never returned to check on Brendon's condition. As he was led to the police van, Gunter said to his partner: 'Promise me, stick together, yeah?' The court also heard the pair had an 'on-off' relationship, with Gunter described as being 'violent' towards his partner, controlling her finances and who she could talk to. Gunter and Staddon, both of no fixed address, deny charges of murder and causing or allowing Brendon's death.
