A mother broke down in tears at Bristol Crown Court as she recounted the terrifying moment she found her four-week-old son, Atticus Bartlett, grey and lifeless. Atticus tragically died following severe brain injuries sustained at the family home in Chard on July 16, 2022.
Evelyn Ballentyne, Atticus’s mother, testified during the trial of Tony Bartlett, the infant’s father, who faces charges of murder and manslaughter. Bartlett, 39, denies causing his son’s death, which prosecution alleges resulted from violent shaking while he was alone with the baby.
Ms. Ballentyne described how she came downstairs that night and heard Atticus making “two gasping noises.” She said, “If you have ever watched someone pass away, they make strange sounds towards the end of their life — that’s what he did.” She immediately noticed his skin had turned grey, understanding that he was no longer breathing.
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She recounted that Atticus had been lying face down on Tony’s knees when he flipped the baby over, at which point his head collapsed back and his body went limp. Overcome with grief, she screamed and fled the house, initially unaware she had not called emergency services.
Under questioning, Ms. Ballentyne admitted that her memory of that night is now very clear, contradicting earlier statements in which she claimed to have gently shaken Atticus to revive him. She firmly stated that Tony Bartlett had harmed their child.
The court heard that earlier that evening, Atticus had been with his grandmother and her husband while Bartlett and Ms. Ballentyne visited a pub and comedy club. Prosecutors revealed Bartlett had consumed up to nine pints of beer that night. When Ms. Ballentyne went upstairs around 11 p.m., Bartlett was left to care for Atticus alone.
Prosecutor Charles Row KC detailed the prosecution’s case, explaining that Bartlett violently shook Atticus, causing catastrophic internal brain and spinal injuries, as well as multiple rib fractures. Despite emergency care at Musgrove Park Hospital and later Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, Atticus never recovered consciousness and died just before midnight on July 23, 2022.
Bartlett, from Axminster, Devon, maintains his innocence as the trial continues.