Hunter Mathias death: Dad on trial charged with murdering baby son

A father has gone on trial charged with murdering his nine-week-old son at their home in Barnsley.

Leon Mathias is believed to have swung his son, Hunter, by his legs or shaken him in November 2018, Sheffield Crown Court has heard.

The baby died after he was taken to hospital with a bleed on his brain. He was also found after to have suffered leg fractures, the jury was told.

Mr Mathias has denied murder and grievous bodily harm with intent.

Robert Smith KC, prosecuting, told the court Hunter was found injured in the family home in Great Houghton on 30 November 2018 after the baby collapsed and went "floppy" following an alleged attack.

When the injuries were believed to have occurred, the child was being bathed upstairs by Mr Mathias, while Hunter's mother, Rebecca Higginbottom, was downstairs with a friend.

Mr Mathias, 33, of Stonebridge Lane, Great Houghton, was the only person with the child at the time, the jury was told.

The prosecution alleged that Hunter was "violently swung and possibly shaken" by the defendant after he lost his temper, possibly due to the baby crying.

Hunter was taken to Barnsley Hospital before being transferred to Sheffield Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead three days later.

Mr Smith told the jury: "A post-mortem examination revealed evidence of bruising to Hunter's scalp which was consistent with an impact injury to his head."

Following his death, medical experts examined Hunter's body and found three lower limb fractures, with two of those fractures believed to have occurred just days before the head injury, Mr Smith said.

These injuries were considered to be associated with the child having been physically shaken, swung by the legs or twisted, and this formed the basis for the charge of grievous bodily harm with intent, the court heard.

Mr Smith added: "They can only have been inflicted with an intention to cause that degree of harm, even if that intention arose as a result of momentary loss of temper."

The trial continues.

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