The parents of a two-week-old child who was found in his hospital cot with his head “crushed” walked out for a cigarette while nurses desperately attempted to resuscitate him, a court has 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 Brendon’s injuries after Staddon told nurses her son was cold and asked them to check on him.
While the staff attempted to save Brendon, his parents walked outside for a cigarette, Charles Row KC, prosecuting, said.
"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."
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 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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
A social worker visited the couple in January 2024, telling them that the authorities were planning to remove the baby from their care when he was born.
Mr Row told the jury the couple showed no emotion at the news.
"(The social worker) observed to his surprise was that they seemed much more concerned about their housing situation and what he could do to help with that than they were in the fact that their baby was going to be removed from them," the prosecutor said.
During interviews with the police, Gunter said: "All I can say is that I did nothing, either on purpose or by accident, which could have caused this, and nor did Sophie.
"I do not know what the cause of these injuries was."
In a separate interview, Staddon told officers that she and her partner had been arguing, with Gunter wanting a DNA test to prove that Brendon was his son.
She insisted that while Gunter had been angry at her and could be controlling, she had not seen him cause the young baby’s injuries.
Mr Row said: "(She said) She did not go back inside (the hospital) because she wanted to wait and see if hospital staff came out to tell her what had happened.
"She thought Brendon was dying, but didn’t know why."
He added: "Ms Staddon made a further prepared statement reiterating that she had not done anything to harm Brendon and that she did not know that he was being harmed by anyone, saying that if she thought it was happening, she would have told a nurse.
"She would have asked for help to get rid of Mr Gunter if she thought he had been harming Brendon."
Gunter and Staddon, both of no fixed address, deny charges of murder and causing or allowing Brendon’s death.
The trial continues.
