Tony Bartlett, 39, has been convicted of murdering his four-week-old son Atticus in what prosecutors described as a 'moment of pure violence' fuelled by alcohol. The baby suffered severe internal trauma to his brain and spinal cord, injuries compared to those seen in high-speed traffic accidents or falls from a multi-storey building.
Fatal Evening Out
The incident occurred on July 16, 2022, at the family home in Chard, Somerset. That evening, Bartlett and the baby's mother, Evelyn Ballentyne, had gone to a pub and comedy club for their first night out since Atticus's birth. Ballentyne's mother, Rachel Donovan, and her husband Andrew babysat. Over the evening, Bartlett consumed eight and a half pints of beer before returning home just before 11pm.
Prosecutor Charles Row KC told the trial that Bartlett's 'loss of temper and frustration' was 'almost certainly fuelled' by the alcohol he had consumed. He stated: 'Mr Bartlett can't admit to himself that when he was drunk, in a moment of pure violence, he did something that he will regret for the rest of his life.'
The Fatal Moments
After returning home, Ballentyne went upstairs to remove her makeup, leaving Bartlett with Atticus on the sofa. The baby had been difficult to feed, sometimes taking up to an hour. That evening, Atticus was 'grizzly' and slow to drink his milk. When Ballentyne returned downstairs a few minutes later, she heard Atticus 'make two big gulps as if he was trying to breathe but couldn't'. She picked him up and found he had 'gone all floppy' and grey. She tried to shake him because he was not breathing, then screamed and gave the baby back to Bartlett while seeking help from neighbours.
She called emergency services, reporting a foamy substance and milk coming from the baby's nose, saying: 'My baby's not breathing, can you please come.'
Medical Evidence
Atticus suffered severe internal trauma to his brain and spinal cord and died in hospital seven days later. He also sustained three rib fractures that could not be attributed to resuscitation attempts. Paediatric neurosurgeon Amedeo Calisto, who examined the injuries, said the four-week-old had sustained 'significant head trauma' where veins at the top of the head had been 'stretched and broken'. A medical expert stated the injuries were consistent with those usually sustained in high-speed traffic accidents or falling from a multi-storey building.
Bartlett's Statements
Speaking to police later that night, Bartlett said Atticus 'seemed to make some stuttering sounds' and 'all of a sudden he just seems lifeless'. In a police interview two days after the incident, he claimed he was 'rubbing and patting' Atticus and bouncing him on his knee, thinking he was gassy. When asked if he caused the injuries, he replied: 'I don't think so, no. I didn't shake him.' However, in a later interview in October 2022, he said: 'Maybe I was drunk, I didn't handle him correctly.'
Jurors also heard that Ballentyne had told a nurse near the time of the incident: 'I know something happened in that two minutes I was out of the room but I don't know what.'
Aftermath and Trial
Paramedics found the scene 'chaotic' with a neighbour performing CPR. Atticus was taken to Musgrove Park Hospital and then Bristol Royal Infirmary. He was taken off a ventilator on July 23, 2022, after being told he was 'unlikely to live an independent life'. Bartlett was arrested at the hospital the next day. Ballentyne initially believed her partner could not have done it, telling nurses: 'He would never hurt his son.' She was originally arrested but not charged, and gave evidence at Bartlett's trial.
Bartlett, of Axminster in Devon, denied manslaughter and murder but was found guilty of murder following a four-week trial at Bristol Crown Court. As the verdict was announced on July 8, 2026, he held his head in his hands and cried. He will be sentenced on July 24.
