Father accused of shaking 11-week-old son to death

An 11-week-old baby suffered 18 fractures to his tiny body when he was violently shaken to death, a court heard today.

Little Jayden Saxton had eight leg fractures, several broken ribs and a severe brain injury when he died last November.

His father Jordan Saxton appeared before a judge charged with killing his baby when he was left alone with him for just 90 minutes.

The 21-year-old allegedly gripped his son's chest and shook him causing a "catastrophic" brain injury.

The court heard how the tot was blinded by blood in the back of his eyes from the force.

Saxton dialled 999 and the baby was rushed to hospital, but he was unable to be saved and died two days later.

Prosecuting, Paul Dunkels, said: "On November 16 when Jayden was 11 weeks old the defendant was left to look after him on his own while the baby's mother went out.

"Within 90 minutes the defendant called an ambulance for Jayden. He was found by paramedics to be in a critical state.

"He had suffered a serious brain injury that he could not have survived."

The jury of six men and six women at Oxford Crown Court were shown 16 pictures of the baby's injuries.

A post mortem examination also found that nine of the tot's ribs had been fractured in an earlier assault at some point between October 21 and November 4.

Mr Dunkels added: "The defendant was looking after Jayden on his own when his mother went to her father's house in Kennington.

"She left at about 4.30pm. When she left there was no bruising and Jayden was behaving normally.

"The events must have happened after she left and Jayden was in the defendant's care.

"A clear picture emerged that he had been subjected to a violent assault."

Saxton, of Wingate Close, Oxford, was arrested following a four-month investigation into the death of his son and was charged with murder.

He was said to have dialled 999 after Jayden stopped breathing, claiming he had been trying to feed him whilst lying on his bed at home.

Police said that medical reports showed the tot had suffered various head injuries and a fractured collar bone when he was taken into the Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

Jayden, who lived with his parents in a flat in Untons Place, Faringdon, was transferred to the Royal Bristol Hospital for Children where he later died.

Gareth James, defending, previously told a jury: "Mr Saxton has no knowledge of how these injuries were caused or by who they were caused. There is also no certainty exactly when these injuries were occurred."

The trial, before Mr Justice Rabinder Singh, continues at Oxford Crown Court.

Jayden Saxton's mother Tracy Ray told how she left the family home after a an argument on the day her baby was rushed to hospital.

She had argued with her forklift driver boyfriend Jordan Saxton and left their home to go to her father's house with her then eight-year-old daughter.

Just 90 minutes after leaving little Jayden with Saxton on November 16, he had called 999 reporting injuries to the 11-week-old.

Giving evidence the mother-of-two said Saxton cheated on her while she was pregnant but was a "changed man" who doted on his first-born son.

After discovering his indiscretions she had decided she no longer wanted to have the baby and planned to have an abortion.

However, after seeing a baby scan at about eight weeks into her pregnancy, she changed her mind and decided to keep the baby.

Appearing as a prosecution witness behind a screen at Oxford Crown Court, she said she had "no concerns" over the way her baby's father handled or looked after Jayden before his death last November 18.

She had met Saxton around Halloween in 2013 and fell pregnant just a few months later.

Prosecuting, Paul Dunkels told the court it appeared the baby had been shaken.

"There was bleeding on the skull and bleeding in the eyes which is suggestive of him having been shaken," he said.

"The brain injuries were so severe that nothing could have been done to save him.

"Medical examinations established he was a healthy baby and had no underlying medical condition which caused the bruising or injuries."

Saxton was later charged with one count of murder, which he denies.

The trial continues.