Man jailed for life after inflicting ‘catastrophic injuries’ on two-week-old son

A father who murdered his premature son in a special care baby unit has been handed a life sentence.

Daniel Gunter, 27, killed two-week-old Brendon Staddon at Yeovil District Hospital on 5 March last year.

Gunter denied harming him, but was convicted of murder following a three-week trial at Bristol Crown Court.

The jury heard that Gunter inflicted "catastrophic injuries" to the head, neck, legs, and jaw of two-week-old Brendon Staddon while on the ward at the hospital.

The court heard that after inflicting the fatal injuries, Gunter walked out of the hospital for a cigarette, leaving nurses desperately attempting to resuscitate him.

Sentencing the 27-year-old today, the judge, Mr Justice Smith, told him he would serve a minimum of 20 years behind bars.

"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."

"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 3 March."

"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."

The judge described Brendon as a "highly vulnerable victim" murdered by his own father, who was meant to be responsible for his care and safety, while in a hospital setting.

He found the murder was one of "excessive violence", given the extent of Brendon’s injuries and the way they had been inflicted upon him.

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.

"No sentence that I could pass today could possibly ease their grief at Brendon’s death."

"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."

Prosecuting, Charles Row KC, told the court Gunter was controlling towards Staddon and questioned whether he was Brendon’s biological father.

Medical experts described Brendon’s injuries as "akin to a fall from a multi-storey building", Mr. Row added.

"There was an intention to kill demonstrated by the sheer brutality of the attack," he said.

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 firstborn 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."

Andrew Langdon, representing Gunter, said his client had a very low IQ and was "immature for his age."

Mr. Langdon described Gunter’s childhood as "disruptive" and said he had been excluded from school after running away.

The barrister highlighted to the court that he had no previous convictions for violence, with a caution for throwing a bottle of water over an ex-partner.

During his trial, jurors heard how Gunter repeatedly ignored the advice of nurses – taking Brendon out of his incubator without asking, overstimulating him, and removing his nasal gastric tube.

Family members witnessed Gunter shouting and becoming angry at Brendon, as well as handling him roughly, in hospital.

Before Brendon’s birth, Staddon and Gunter were told authorities planned to remove the baby from their care when he was born.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Nadine Partridge from Avon and Somerset Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team said: "Gunter’s actions against Brendon are diabolical, and that innocent baby has had a potential happy and long future taken away from him."

"The injuries which Brendon sustained were catastrophic, and there wasn’t a part of his body which wasn’t bruised or broken. To think someone could do such vicious things to an innocent child does break my heart."

"I would like to give my condolences to Brendon’s wider family, who have all been affected by his death, and they have been incredibly brave when supporting the investigation."

"This has been a long and complex investigation, involving several different departments and outside agencies, and I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to everyone who assisted us in getting this case across the line and brought before judge and jury."

His former partner, Sophie Staddon, 23, was cleared of a lesser charge of causing or allowing the death of a child.

The jury previously found Staddon not guilty of murder and cleared Gunter of causing or allowing the death of a child on the direction of the trial judge, Mr Justice Swift.

During the trial, jurors heard that nurses discovered Brendon’s injuries after Staddon told nurses her son was 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 died at 4:59 am.