Man 'violently shook baby' causing fatal injuries
BBCA baby boy suffered a "catastrophic" brain injury when he was violently shaken by a man and died in hospital three days later, a court has been told.
Prosecutors at Teesside Crown Court said Bradley Thomas, 23, "became angry" and subjected the three-month-old to "excessive and vigorous" shaking when he was the only person with him at a property in the Eston area in the early hours of 5 October last year.
Thomas claimed he fell asleep while the baby was on his knees and woke up to find the boy on the floor, but the prosecution told the jury such a fall could not have caused the injuries.
Thomas, of Grasmere Road, Redcar, denies murder and his trial continues.
Toby Hedworth KC, prosecuting, said paramedics called to the scene found the child "deeply unconscious".
He said medical opinion suggested the boy "suffered a traumatic head injury caused by an episode of excessive and vigorous forceful shaking".
"The defendant was the only person with him when he had gone from being well... to being in a state of acute collapse."
A specialist told the jury that similar injuries could be seen in accidental head trauma, but in severe cases like a fatal car crash or a fall from a three-storey height on to concrete.
The court heard Thomas was initially arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and "fell to the floor shouting he did not harm" the boy.
In a police interview, the defendant denied shaking the child saying he was "too tired to shake him, I've not shook him, not whatsoever", the jury heard.
