By Sam Corbishley

Copyright metro

Brendon Staddon suffered ‘catastrophic injuries’ to the head, neck, legs and jaw (Picture: Avon and Somerset Police/PA)

A violent and controlling man who murdered his two-week-old son in a special care baby unit has been jailed for at least 20 years.

Daniel Gunter, 27, inflicted ‘catastrophic’ injuries on Brendon Staddon, who was being cared for in Yeovil District Hospital after being born prematurely.

There was no part of Brendon’s tiny body that was not bruised or broken, with jurors told his skull had been shattered and his skin was badly marked from head to toe.

Among other injuries, he was later found to have a broken neck, a broken jaw, broken legs, broken ankles and broken wrists.

While shocked nurses carried Brendon’s ‘limp, lifeless body’ to the resuscitation area, Gunter and Brendon’s mum Sophie Staddon, 21, went outside to smoke.

Staddon was later cleared of murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.

One juror wept as the jury foreman returned the verdicts and was comforted by two other jurors as she wiped away tears.

Jailing Gunter for life today, judge Mr Justice Swift said: ‘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.’

Mr Justice Swift also ruled that the killing was pre-meditated, with Gunter inflicting the fatal injuries without alerting nurses who were at a nearby station at the time.

The judge added: ‘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.’

The trial heard that social workers were planning to take Brendon away from the couple when he was born due to their housing difficulties and Gunter’s ‘control’ of Ms Staddon.

In a victim personal statement, Gunter’s father Simon Gunter paid tribute to Brendon and described the devastating impact of his death.

‘He was so tiny but so beautiful, he was just perfect,’ his statement said.

‘Brendon was my first grandson from my first born child. As a family, we were so happy and excited.

‘My family and I were fortunate to have met Brendon in hospital during his short life. We held him and had cuddles with him.’

Mr Gunter described how ‘time stopped still’ when he was informed Brendon had died and how he had been unable to speak to his son since.

Members of Brendon’s family visited him in the mortuary and arranged a funeral to give him ‘a beautiful send off’, he said.

‘We will never see his first crawl, his first steps or his first word,’ Mr Gunter’s statement continued.

‘He didn’t even have a chance to give us his first smile.’

The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust said an inquiry into Brendon’s death was underway.

‘This has been an incredibly distressing criminal case about the murder of a vulnerable two-week-old baby while he was being cared for in Yeovil District Hospital,’ a spokesman said.

‘Our thoughts are with his wider family. We are part of the child safeguarding practice review, along with other agencies, that will thoroughly examine the circumstances around baby Brendon’s death.

‘It is well underway and will be published in the autumn.’

Daniel Gunter was found guilty of murdering his two-week-old son in a special care baby unit (Picture: Avon and Somerset Police/PA)

The trial heard that after inflicting the fatal injuries which left Brendon’s head ‘crushed’, Gunter walked out of the hospital for a cigarette, leaving nurses desperately attempting to resuscitate him.

Staff had discovered Brendon’s injuries when Ms Staddon told nurses her son was cold and asked them to check on him.

Charles Row KC, prosecuting, told jurors Brendon 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 said.

‘He was later found to have, amongst other injuries, a broken neck, a broken jaw, broken legs, broken ankles and broken wrists.’

The couple were arrested by the Avon and Somerset police officers while smoking outside and neither gave evidence during the trial.

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.’

Ms 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.’

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 Ms 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.

Family members had witnessed Gunter shouting and getting angry at Brendon while visiting them in hospital and would handle him roughly.

Louise Besica, Gunter’s aunt, said: ‘I felt like he had no patience. He was really rough with him with how he was putting him in his baby grow.’

The pair had an ‘on-off’ relationship, with Gunter described as being ‘violent’ towards his partner, controlling her finances and whom she could talk to.

A social worker visited the couple in January 2024, telling them the authorities were planning to remove the baby from their care when he was born.

‘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,’ Mr Row said.

Speaking after the verdicts, Detective Chief Inspector Nadine Partridge, who led the investigation, said: ‘The injuries that Brendon sustained were catastrophic and there wasn’t a part of his body which wasn’t bruised or broken.

‘It breaks my heart to see someone do such vicious things to a poor, innocent child who had his whole life ahead of him.

‘Brendon was failed in life. In death, justice is the only protection we can still offer him.’