Father found guilty of murdering four-week-old son after night out

A father has been found guilty of murdering his four-week-old son after returning home from a night out.

Tony Bartlett was convicted by a jury of causing fatal injuries to his son Atticus when he shook him at home in Chard, Somerset, on 16 July 2022. The jury heard the 39-year-old had drunk up to nine pints of beer before the attack.

Atticus was taken to hospital with serious injuries to his spinal cord and ribs, as well as brain damage so severe he never regained consciousness and was never able to breathe independently again. He died seven days later.

Bartlett, of Axminster in Devon, is set to be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on 24 July.

Warning: This story contains details which readers may find distressing.

During the trial, jurors heard how Bartlett and his then-partner Evelyn Ballentyne had gone to a pub and comedy club for their first evening out since their son's birth.

After they returned home, Ballentyne went upstairs and Bartlett was left alone to feed Atticus.

The court heard that when Ballentyne returned, she found her son looking "lifeless".

Giving evidence, she described hearing Atticus make two loud gasps as if he was dying.

Emergency services attended the property and Atticus was taken to Musgrove Park Hospital before being transferred to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, where he died just before midnight on 23 July 2022.