Life in jail for father who murdered his premature son - causing injuries 'akin to a fall from a multi-storey building'

A father who inflicted catastrophic injuries to the head, neck and jaw of his 14-day-old son while he in a special care baby unit, has been jailed for a minimum of 20 years.

Warning: This story contains reports of graphic violence. A detective working on the case said there "wasn't a part of Brendon's body that was left unharmed in this brutal assault".

Daniel Gunter, 27, was found guilty of baby Brendon's murder following a three-week trial at Bristol Crown Court. Mr Justice Swift told the court: "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." Parents smoking outside Yeovil District Hospital staff discovered Brendon on 5 March last year, fatally injured in his cot after his mother, Sophie Staddon, 21, told nurses he was cold at about 4am. 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 was pronounced dead at 4.59am.

His parents, who left the unit to smoke outside the hospital while doctors and nurses worked on their son, were arrested a short time later. Ms Staddon was acquitted of causing or allowing Brendon's death.

More from Sky News:Woman named as new Archibishop of CanterburyStorm Amy sparks weather warnings for whole UK 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.