Cliff Notes
- Daniel Gunter, 27, was found guilty of murdering his two-week-old son, Brendon Staddon, who suffered catastrophic injuries while in a special care baby unit.
- The baby’s mother, Sophie Staddon, 23, was acquitted of any involvement in the death, while Gunter awaits sentencing on 3 October.
- Concerns over Gunter’s behaviour towards Brendon were raised by social services prior to the baby’s death, which the jury noted involved severe non-accidental injuries.
Daniel Gunter guilty of murdering his two-week-old baby son in hospital | UK News
The father of a two-week-old baby has been found guilty of murdering him in hospital.
Daniel Gunter, 27, killed his son, Brendon Staddon, on 5 March 2024, a jury at Bristol Crown Court has concluded.
Baby Brendon suffered “catastrophic injuries” to his head, neck, legs and jaw, while he was a patient at the special care baby unit at Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset.
The jury found Gunter guilty of his son’s murder, but the baby’s mother, Gunter’s former partner Sophie Staddon, 23, was cleared of causing or allowing the death of a child.
Staddon was previously found not guilty of murder, and Gunter was cleared of causing or allowing the death of a child on the direction of the trial judge, Mr Justice Swift.
The defendants showed no emotion as the verdicts were returned.
“Daniel Gunter, you have been found guilty of murder. You will be remanded into custody pending the sentencing hearing,” the judge said.
“Sophie Staddon, you have been acquitted by the jury. Your bail will no longer be necessary, and you are free to go.”
Gunter, of no fixed address, will be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on 3 October.
The court heard baby Brendon was born prematurely at 33 weeks on 20 February 2024 and was described by prosecutor Charles Row KC as weighing “less than a couple of bags of sugar”.
Hospital staff discovered Brendan’s serious injuries after Staddon told nurses her son was cold and asked them to check on him around 4am on 5 March.
But while staff rushed to Brendon’s cot to try and save him, his parents walked outside for a cigarette, Mr Row said during the three-week trial.
He said Brendon was found with his baby grow open and staff soon realised he had suffered devastating 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,” Mr Row said.
“He was later found to have, amongst other injuries, a broken neck, a broken jaw, broken legs, broken ankles and broken wrists.”
Staff carried the baby’s “limp, lifeless body” to the resuscitation area, but Brendon did not respond to treatment.
His parents were arrested by police outside the hospital as they were smoking.
Social services and Gunter’s family had raised concerns about the couple’s “lack of emotional warmth” toward their child before his death, Mr Row said.
The jury were told that, over several days after his son was born, Gunter was told to stop handling, overstimulating and fussing baby Brendon by tickling him, poking him and not allowing him to rest. One of the nurses on the ward looking after him said she was “left with the impression” Gunter did not take criticism well.
Mr Row told the jury that over-stimulation “can have the consequence of distressing the child, causing crying and for oxygen levels to drop”.
The jury members were also told how Gunter was seen “being rough” when handling Brendon and that he had become angry when Brendon urinated on him during a nappy change.
In the hours before Brendon’s death, when a nurse enquired as to whether everything was okay with Brendon, Gunter replied “yes, he’s alright”, but in a way the nurse considered odd.
A post-mortem examination found Brendon died of “blunt force impact(s) head injury” with multiple non-accidental injuries to the head.
The prosecution said during the trial that the jury needed to understand the “sheer brutality” involved in Brendon’s death, with Mr Row adding that “there was hardly a part of his body that was spared”.
Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Nadine Partridge said after the trial’s conclusion: “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.”
Brendon’s grandfather Simon Gunter said: “[Brendon] was born early and was so tiny, but so beautiful… As a family, we were so happy and excited. We had bought clothes, toys and supplies… and we all had exciting plans for the future.
“But, we have been robbed of a life of memories of Brendon… They have been taken from us and he will never be replaced. I hope Daniel gets what he deserves for what he did to Brendon.
“Today, some justice has been served, but we still have many unanswered questions.”
