Dad who shook baby son to death is jailed
HE INITIALLY DENIED HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR TOT’S INJURIES
A 39-YEAR-OLD father who killed his two-month old baby son in Derbyshire has been jailed for nine years.
Derby Crown Court heard how Anton Shields “violently shook” tiny Cody with what the prosecutor called “a high degree of force” and possibly leading to the baby striking his head on the arm of a sofa, causing fatal brain injuries.
He had been trusted by the boy’s mother to look after him while she went to a local post office with her father. But when she returned, paramedics were at the address in Bamford and described the youngster as being “lifeless and with blue lips”.
Shields, of Barnsley, at first denied he had been responsible for the death, claiming he was feeding Cody with a bottle when “he just went still”.
Cody was airlifted to hospital in Sheffield but, two days later, a decision was made to switch off his life support machine. In a victim personal statement, the baby’s mother said: “I have lost Cody forever, I think about him every day. Losing him is the worst thing to have happened in my life.”
Shields, of Hardwick Crescent, was initially charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm, which was upgraded to murder on his son’s death.
Earlier this month, on the first day of his trial, he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Jailing him, Justice Mr Andrew Baker QC said: “Cody was described by his mother as her ‘little bundle of joy’ and she remains haunted by his loss.
“What you did to Cody only you can exactly say, but you must have used a level of force that any sane person would see was excessive.
“Violence towards a baby cannot be acceptable. “He only lived two months and that was because you, Anton Shields, did violence on him that killed him when he was alone in your care.”
Jonas Hankin QC, prosecuting, said on the morning of incident baby Cody had been for his eightweek inoculations and was then left in Shields’ care.
He said: “The mother and her father went to Bamford to the post office and while they were away the defendant was trusted to look after the baby.
“A neighbour later described how she could hear the baby crying and screaming as if it was fit to burst. But then sadly it went quiet and she heard someone shouting ‘he’s gone still’.”
Mr Hankin said: “Medical experts are all agreed that this was violent shaking to the point of collapse with a high degree of force being used.”
Nick Clark QC, for Shields, said his client has no previous convictions of any kind. He said: “He has, since 2002 at the age of 21, been bedevilled by depression and anxiety.
“He has no academic qualifications and was bullied by a particular teacher during his childhood. What he did was inexplicable. He did not have the parenting skills to calm the baby down.
“We know that earlier that day Cody had his inoculations and they are known to have side effects that can make a baby unsettled and fractious.
“He’s really sorry that he shook him and he never intended to cause him really serious harm.”