5-Week-Old Baby Died Of 71 Rib Fractures And Head Injuries, Dad Convicted For Murder

A 31-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering his 5-week-old baby, three years after the infant died from multiple rib fractures and head injuries at his home in England.

James Clark of Warmley, a village in South Gloucestershire, England, was convicted Monday for his 5-week-old son's death in January 2018. He faces a mandatory life sentence. On the other hand, Clark's then partner and the baby's mother Helen Jeremy, 27, was cleared of murder charges, Bristol Live reported.

Jeremy lived with her son at her parents' house and the couple used to spend the weekends together at each other's house. Jeremy found the infant unresponsive at his cot on January 14, 2018, when she was at Clark's house. She called the emergency services but the infant was pronounced dead later.

Investigators found that Jeremy had searched online about babies coughing up blood hours after she came to Clark's home that weekend. She had also texted her mother complaining that the infant was crying a lot particularly when he was picked up and during feeding.

The infant's autopsy revealed that he suffered two brain hemorrhages, 71 rib fractures, and internal bleedings. The medical examiner concluded that the baby died of the shaken baby syndrome and was assaulted on at least three occasions during his short life.

The infant suffered the most recent injuries shortly before death and the earliest were from up to two weeks before that, the court heard, Sky News reported.

Both Clark and Jeremy were initially charged with murder until Monday when Jeremy was cleared of charges against her.

"James Clark is responsible for the most repulsive and hideous of crimes - the murder of a defenseless child," James Riccio, a senior investigating officer said Monday, as reported by Sky News. However, Clark has denied responsibility for the infant's death.

"All of my team have been truly shocked at the lack of remorse shown by him throughout this investigation and subsequent trial which has taken more than three and a half years to conclude," Riccio added.

Anne Hampshire, the prosecutor said: "This was a tragic case where a very young child was the victim of several assaults, causing serious and ultimately fatal injuries."

The court has scheduled Clark's sentencing on Sept. 24.