Tony Bartlett Guilty of Murdering Four-Week-Old Son

Tony Bartlett has been found guilty of murdering his four-week-old son Atticus after a Bristol Crown Court trial.

Avon and Somerset Police said Bartlett, 39, caused severe injuries to Atticus at the family home in Chard on July 16, 2022.

Bartlett was alone with Atticus before the collapse

Police said Bartlett had returned from a night out with Atticus’s mother and was alone downstairs feeding the baby.

Atticus’s mother returned to find him lifeless and taking his last unassisted breaths, according to the police account.

Emergency responders and medical staff tried to save him.

Atticus was taken first to hospital in Somerset and then transferred to Bristol, where he died a week later.

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Medical evidence drove the conviction

Police said Atticus suffered severe internal injuries to his brain, spinal cord and ribs.

Medical experts concluded the injuries were consistent with recent severe head trauma at the most severe end of the spectrum.

Bartlett denied causing the injuries.

The jury convicted him after hearing the medical evidence and the timeline placing him alone with Atticus before the baby collapsed.

Sentencing is set for July 24

Bartlett, of Axminster in Devon, will be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on July 24.

The judge told him to expect a life sentence.

Senior Investigating Officer Det Supt Lorett Spierenburg said Atticus died as the direct result of a violent and cruel act.

Police said the family had endured a lengthy and complex investigation before the trial.

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The case leaves a short factual window

The trial evidence focused on a narrow period after the parents returned home.

That window became decisive because Atticus was described in court as fit and healthy before the incident.

The mother was initially arrested during the investigation but was not charged and gave evidence for the prosecution.

The court record now moves from verdict to sentence, where the judge will set the minimum term Bartlett must serve.

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