A mum looked into the face of the man who shook her baby to death at their Easton home, telling him he "robbed him of a chance to grow up".
The distraught mum made her victim personal statement to Marcus Carter as he appeared in court today (February 14). He admitted killing their 10-week-old son - but has never revealed how, despite experts agreeing the tot was shaken with such force he suffered rib fractures, respiratory failure and a catastrophic brain injury.
She told Bristol Crown Court: "He's responsible for my son's death. He was supposed to be my son's dad.
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"He shook him to death and he denied it for two-and-a-half years. Why don't you care what [he] went through?"
Carter, 43, whose address was given as Burns Road in Moxley, Walsall, originally faced a murder charge after the baby's death in August 2020. He was due to face trial but in January this year he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which was accepted.
The Honourable Mrs Justice Henrietta Hill jailed him for seven years and eight months. She told Carter: "[He] leaves a grieving family. The devastation is plain from their intensely personal and moving statements."
Christopher Quinlan KC, prosecuting, said Carter's relationship with the baby's mum became strained after the birth. There came a time when she had packed his bags for him to leave.
The court heard how the baby, who Bristol Live is not naming, could be restless and would cry. The tot's GP suggested the crying could be down to colic, but was happy with the baby's health.
Mr Quinlan described Carter's approach to fatherhood as "very hands-on". But there was no evidence of him being seen to mistreat the baby.
After mum and baby returned home after a day out, he was handed to Carter, the court heard. A young witness described hearing Carter repeating the baby's name and then saying: "Oh my God."
The witness then saw Carter trying to revive the unresponsive baby by shaking him back and forth. When that failed she went to get help.
It is the prosecution's case that within a five-minute window Carter had shaken the baby, making him unresponsive, and was then seen trying to revive him. A witness who arrived at the scene saw Carter holding the baby and saying: "Come on son, breathe, wake up."
The court heard medics battled to save the baby, who was taken to Bristol Children's Hospital. Tragically, his ventilator was switched off eleven days after the assault and he passed away.
Carter told police he had tried to settle his son, who was crying. He said the crying stopped, the baby became unresponsive and he panicked, placing the flat of his hand on his chest, rubbing him and tapping him to no avail. Carter claimed it was "1,000 per cent" the case that he never caused the injury.
The victim's mum told the court: "What could possibly happen that makes a person shake a baby with such force? I have so many questions. I live in hope they will be answered.
"Marcus, you have taken my son, a brother, a nephew, grandson and great-grandson. You have stolen him from us when he was just 10 weeks old."
"He has been robbed of a chance to grow up, have a childhood, go to school and university, have a first girlfriend, become a father and experience life itself. I have been robbed of the chance to mother him, care for him and love him.”
Gareth James, defending, said: "The defendant is a man who caused no concerns. In a very quick incident he lost his self-control, which no doubt everybody wishes never happened."
Mr James said his client regretted very much what happened. He said Carter had been prescribed anti-depressants by his GP, but had told the Probation Service he didn't want to talk about what happened because it made things worse.
Detective Chief Inspector Roger Doxsey, the senior investigating officer, said: “This is a truly tragic case and our hearts go out to the young boy’s mother and family. The force that Carter used, for whatever reason, was completely disproportionate and led to his catastrophic injuries.
“He refused to accept his role in what happened for more than two years, until faced with the overwhelming medical evidence, and other evidence gathered from witnesses and CCTV footage. It is of small comfort to the boy’s family that they do not have to sit through a trial which would undoubtedly have caused them even more distress.
“They wanted Carter most of all to tell them what he did that day, and why he shook the boy with such force. He has not yet done so in any detail, but we hope that today is a key step towards him accepting responsibility for his actions, and the young life that he took away.”
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