A dad whose cold sore kiss led to the death of his baby boy launched a brutal assault on his ex-partner after turning to drink and drugs following the tragedy. Carl MacLaren blamed himself after his two-month-old son Kaiden died of multiple organ failure in 2012.
The premature infant's death was the result of herpes simplex virus, which the parent had accidentally passed on when he kissed him with a cold sore. A court heard on Wednesday, October 5, that the 44-year-old had struggled to come to terms with the youngster's death, whose life support system was switched off after six weeks in hospital.
MacLaren had started drinking heavily again during the first coronavirus lockdown, which eventually led to the breakdown of his relationship with his partner and children’s mum, Marie Clare McCormick. After their 12-year relationship ended earlier this year, the defendant broke into her home while she was upstairs in bed on the afternoon on May 11, the Liverpool Echo reports.
