Overview
- Doctors say three-month-old Emmerson Oak Thomas became unresponsive on October 5, 2025, was treated at James Cook University Hospital and transferred to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, and was pronounced dead after life support was withdrawn on October 8, 2025.
- Court testimony from paediatric specialists and a pathologist described CT scans showing bleeding on the brain, severe swelling and reduced blood flow that they said were consistent with a shaking-type, non-accidental head injury.
- A consultant in paediatric pathology told jurors that the baby’s retinal haemorrhages were severe, in multiple retinal layers, and were characteristic of abusive trauma rather than an accidental fall.
- The defendant, Bradley Thomas, denies murder and the defence has pointed to alternative explanations including a fall or a seizure; footage shown in court captured unusual arm movements that a paediatrician said resembled a seizure.
- A Cleveland Police detective said officers seized a tin containing cannabis, a grinder and papers from the family home and the child’s mother told medics she and Thomas smoked cannabis outside after the children were in bed; the trial at Teesside Crown Court is ongoing.