By Kelly Williams,Kelly-Ann Kiernan

Copyright dailystar

A father who murdered his two-week-old son while he lay in a special care baby unit has been jailed for life . Tiny Brendon Staddon was discovered in his cot on March 5 last year. Bristol Crown Court heard during the trial that 27-year-old Daniel Gunter caused the fatal injuries which left his son’s head “crushed”, before leaving the hospital for a cigarette whilst nurses frantically tried to save the little boy’s life. Today, Mr Justice Swift sentenced Gunter to life imprisonment, ordering him to serve a minimum of 20 years in prison , after learning that Brendon’s injuries were comparable to “akin to a fall from a multi-storey building”. Mr Justice Swift told Gunter: “Brendon was your son. He was born on February 20 2024 at Yeovil District Hospital. He was born a little prematurely, at 33 weeks, but was in all other respects a healthy child.”, reports the Mirror . “After his birth, he was cared for in the special care baby unit at Yeovil District Hospital. He was an entirely healthy child. Brendon’s death was the result of catastrophic injuries, all of which you inflicted in the early hours of March 3. “The injuries were appalling. At your trial, several medical experts gave evidence describing these injuries and explaining how they were likely to have been caused. 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.” Gunter’s former partner, Sophie Staddon, 21, was acquitted of causing or allowing the death of a child. In July, as the foreman delivered the verdict, a female juror was visibly upset and wiped tears away as she was comforted by two fellow jury members. The trial heard staff at Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset had discovered Brendon’s injuries after Staddon told nurses her son was cold and asked them to check on him. Charles Row KC, prosecuting, told the trial: “Staff found him lying in his cot with his baby grow open. 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.” The prosecution said staff carried his “limp, lifeless body” to the resuscitation area, but Brendon did not respond to treatment. The jury heard Gunter and Staddon were arrested by the police while smoking outside. Mr Row said 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 February 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. Whilst 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. Family members had witnessed Gunter shouting and getting angry at Brendon while visiting them in hospital and would handle him roughly. Mr Row emphasised to the jury the “sheer brutality” involved in the death. A post-mortem examination revealed Brendon died of “blunt force impact(s) head injury” with multiple non-accidental injuries to the head. The court also heard the pair had a tumultuous relationship, with Gunter described as being “violent” towards his partner, controlling her finances and dictating who she could converse with. A social worker visited the couple in January 2024, informing them that the authorities planned to remove the baby from their care upon his birth. Mr Row stated: “The authorities were concerned about many things, including their precarious housing situation, the way Mr Gunter appeared to control Ms Staddon and her finances, Ms Staddon’s physical and mental health and their lack of engagement.” Gunter told officers: “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.” Staddon told police: “I had done nothing to harm Brendon at all. I love him. He was my everything. I would not have harmed him.” Following the verdict, Brendon’s grandfather Simon Gunter said: “[Brendon] was born early and was so tiny, but so beautiful. He was just perfect. Despite his early arrival, he was a little fighter and proved his strength in the very short life he had. “As a family, we were so happy and excited. We had bought clothes, toys and supplies in preparation for his arrival and we all had exciting plans for the future. But we have been robbed of a life of memories of Brendon. “We won’t get to see his first steps, hear his first words, take him on his first holiday, and see him grow into a young boy then a man. We will never have those memories. They have been taken from us and he will never be replaced.”