South Yorkshire dad denies murdering baby son after he died from a severe head injury

Sheffield Crown Court heard on October 26 during a trial how Leon Mathias, aged 33, of Stonebridge Lane, in Great Houghton, Barnsley, has pleaded not guilty to assaulting and murdering his two-month-old son Hunter who was taken to hospital with injuries on November 30, 2018, and later died on December 3, 2018.

Prosecuting barrister Robert Smith KC told the jury: “The case that you are to try involves the death of a very young child whose name was Hunter Mathias. He was just over two-months-old when he died, having been born on September 27, 2018. Hunter died in Sheffield Children’s Hospital on December 3, that year, as a result of a severe brain injury which was sustained on November 30, just three days beforehand and that involved internal bleeding over the surface of the brain and brain swelling.”

A post-mortem examination revealed bruising to Hunter’s scalp was consistent with an impact injury to the head and scans revealed three lower limb fractures including one fracture which was believed to have occurred around the time of the head injury with the other two occurring days earlier. Experts believe these injuries were closely associated with the shaking of a child, the twisting of limbs or swinging a child by the legs, according to Mr Smith.

Mr Smith said: “The prosecution’s case is that the defendant Leon Mathias, father of Hunter, is the person responsible for inflicting the head injuries resulting in Hunter’s death and he did so by physically holding Hunter by his legs and hitting him against a surface and he may also have shaken him at some time.”

Leon Mathias had been upstairs with Hunter on the evening of November 30, 2018, bathing him, according to Mr Smith, and after the youngster had been crying the defendant called for his partner Rebecca Higginbottom who had been downstairs with a friend. The friend said Ms Higginbottom went upstairs and she heard her gasp, according to Mr Smith, who added that Ms Higginbottom called 999 and reported that Hunter had collapsed.

Hunter was taken by ambulance to Barnsley District General Hospital and was later transferred to Sheffield Children’s Hospital where he died on December 3, 2018. The court heard that prior to the incident Hunter’s parents had been advised about shaken-baby syndrome by a community nurse in October 2018, with a warning that a baby should never be shaken, handled roughly or thrown in the air and a GP had found no abnormalities with the child on November 9, 2018.

Leon Mathias told police he had taken Hunter upstairs to bathe him and he added that Hunter had defecated in the bath and the defendant said he had washed and dried his son before he started crying and went floppy all of a sudden.

Mr Smith said: “The prosecution contend that Hunter was physically swung against a surface thereby striking his head and resulting in the bruising beneath his scalp that was found at post-mortem examination. If he was held by his left leg and physically swung and shaken the action was of such severity that it resulted in his left leg becoming fractured once more at the knee.”

Mr Smith argued that Leon Mathias had lost his temper because Hunter had been crying or because he had defecated in the bath or for both reasons.

Leon Mathias has pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Hunter between November 22 and 29, 2018, and he has pleaded not guilty to murdering Hunter who died on December 3, 2018. The trial continues.