Dad "shook his baby to death because he was stressed about having a child" (London, England, United Kingdom)

Dad MATTHEW ADDY is on trial for the shaking death of his 3-month-old son in 2003. Why it has taken 8 years for this to come to trial is not explained. As usual, we have the same old excuses trotted out, excuses that are familiar to anybody who knows the killer daddy literature: daddy was "depressed" and "stressed" and overwhelmed, blah blah.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366122/Father-daunted-responsibility-killed-baby-shaking-him.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Young father 'shook his baby to death because he was stressed about having a child'
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:21 PM on 14th March 2011

A young father daunted by the responsibility of having a baby son killed the 'bright and healthy' infant by shaking him, a court heard today.

Scott Addy, who was nearly three-months-old, was found to have suffered serious brain injuries when he was taken to hospital, and died nine days later.

Just hours before he was taken ill, video footage of the baby had shown him to be 'fine and healthy', said Richard Whittam QC, prosecuting.

Mr Whittam said: 'He sustained a serious head injury consistent with either a shaking or a shaking impact injury, which caused his death.'

Matthew Addy, 29, of Wimbledon, south west London, denies the manslaughter of his baby son in December 2003.

The Old Bailey heard that he was a 22-year-old greenkeeper at Walton Heath golf club in Surrey when Scott was born in September that year.

His fiancee Nicole Pullen, who he lived with in Sutton, was 17 when, unplanned, she became pregnant.

During the pregnancy Addy took two months off work with depression, telling his partner he was 'stressed' about the baby, jurors were told.

But he later seemed 'far happier with the situation' and was described as a 'hands-on father', the court heard.

Mr Whittam said Addy was not alleged to have intended to kill Scott or cause him really serious harm, but to have acted in a way in which he would have realised his actions could harm him.

'It may be that Matthew Addy found himself in difficult circumstances. Nicole Pullen was very young when she had fallen pregnant.

'He was in a job that wasn't particularly well paid.

'He found, as many people do, the prospect of fatherhood to be a daunting one and he was understandably concerned with money, and with the many responsibilities he was going to have to undertake.'

Addy's fiancee was also ill at the time, so he had to take more responsibility for looking after the baby, said Mr Whittam.

'Did he overreact in the circumstances he'd found himself in?' he added.

The court heard that Scott had been a 'happy baby' who slept well and regularly, often through the night.

'He appeared to be a bright and healthy baby,' said Mr Whittam.

Miss Pullen, who was a student at Kingston College, had been ill with tonsilitis and a chest infection in the time leading up to the baby's injuries.

Her mother visited the evening before, when a video was made, the court heard.

'Scott appeared to be, that evening when the video was taken, fine and healthy,' said Mr Whittam.

During the night Miss Pullen was ill and being sick.

'At some point during these events, Matthew told Nicole that there was something wrong with Scott, that he was pale and floppy and not taking his feed.'

Addy called for an ambulance saying the baby was having trouble breathing and 'his heart was beating funny'.

Scott was taken to hospital and it was clear that he was seriously unwell, and Addy was 'upset and tearful'.

The baby had suffered bleeding on the brain. His eyes were examined by an ophthalmologist who found the prognosis to be 'poor' and it appeared that if the baby did survive he might lose his sight.

These injuries together suggested what happened was 'non-accidental', Mr Whittam told the jury.

Both parents were arrested. Addy denied ever having shaken his son and said he was not aware of anyone treating him 'roughly', the court heard.

Later, he and Miss Pullen agreed to withdraw treatment for Scott after doctors told them it was not certain he would survive, and that even if he did he would have severe brain disability.
The trial continues.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366122/Father-daunted-responsibility-killed-baby-shaking-him.html#ixzz1Gazy0iDe