Overview
- Prosecutors say 14-week-old Emmerson-Oak Thomas suffered brain, spinal and retinal bleeding consistent with violent shaking and died in hospital on October 8 from a traumatic head injury.
- Pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton told the jury the pattern of bleeding and nerve damage could not be explained by a minor bump and that the injuries were inflicted after 9pm the night before emergency services were called.
- Defendant Bradley Thomas has denied deliberately harming his son, telling jurors the baby fell from his lap after he dozed during a night feed and that he never gripped or shook the child to cause injury.
- The jury has seen home video of the baby making unusual arm movements before becoming limp, heard that Thomas waited about 30 minutes to call for help, and learned police found cannabis at the family home.
- The case turns on competing expert opinions and witness credibility, and the jury at Teesside Crown Court must decide whether the medical and circumstantial evidence proves murder beyond reasonable doubt.