Mum's screams at 'limp and grey' baby son as dad 'shook him after nine pints'

Mum's screams at 'limp and grey' baby son as dad 'shook him after nine pints' Tony Bartlett denies charges of murder and manslaughter relating to the death of his four-week-old son, Atticus, who he allegedly violently shook after drinking nine pints of beer A dad is alleged to have shaken his baby son to death after drinking nine pints of beer. Atticus Bartlett died in hospital after collapsing at the family home in Chard, Somerset, on July 16, 2022. Tony Bartlett, 39, denies charges of murder and manslaughter relating to the death of his son from brain injuries. Giving evidence at the trial of Bartlett, the baby's mother, Evelyn Ballentyne, told Bristol Crown Court that she "screamed" at the sight of her son lying limp and "grey". It is alleged that Bartlett, a postman, had violently shaken Atticus while they were alone together. Ms Ballentyne told the jury she went downstairs and heard Atticus making "two gasping noises". "If you have ever watched someone pass away, towards the end of their life, they make funny noises and that's what he did," she said. "I then stared at Atticus for a couple of seconds and you could just tell that he had gone grey. He was dead. I don't know if I said 'he's dead' or 'he's not breathing'. I screamed." Ms Ballentyne said Atticus had been lying face down on his father’s knees and that Bartlett "flipped" him over. "Atticus's head just flopped back, he wasn't alive," she told the court, sobbing as she recalled how his body was limp when he was moved onto his back. "I just screamed and ran out of the house," Ms Ballentyne said. "I thought I rang 999 but I didn't." Prosecutor Charles Row KC asked Ms Ballentyne how many times she had recalled the events of that night. She wept and replied: "All the time." The court heard Ms Ballentyne had previously given accounts that she had picked Atticus up and gently shaken him to revive him. But Ms Ballentyne told the jury that this was not the case. "My memory is very clear now of that night," she added. Representing Bartlett, Nigel Power KC suggested Ms Ballentyne had attempted to "minimise" her actions, which she denied. He asked her: "Tony didn't do anything to harm Atticus, did he?" Ms Ballentyne replied: "Yes he did." Atticus had been cared for by his grandmother, Rachel Donovan and her husband Andrew, earlier in the evening, while Bartlett and Ms Ballentyne went to a pub and comedy club. Mr Row previously told the jury that Bartlett had drunk up to nine pints of beer and had been left to feed Atticus while his partner went upstairs to change at about 11pm. He alleged that while Ms Ballentyne was upstairs, Bartlett violently shook Atticus so forcefully that he inflicted severe internal injuries to his brain and spinal cord. Several of Atticus’ ribs were also cracked, Mr Row told the jury. After Ms Ballentyne raised the alarm, neighbours and paramedics attended the property. Atticus was taken to Musgrove Park Hospital by ambulance and later transferred to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. However, his brain damage was so severe that he never regained consciousness or breathed independently again. He died just before midnight on July 23, 2022. Bartlett, of Axminster, Devon, denies the two charges against him and the trial continues.