Man sentenced to 9 years for fatal attack on 3-month-old son in Stafford

A 38-year-old man has been sentenced to nine years in prison after attacking his three-month-old son in a fast-food restaurant in Stafford, then later violently shaking the baby at home days afterwards, causing injuries from which the child died. Gareth Stark, of Masefield Drive, Stafford, was convicted following his guilty pleas to battery and manslaughter at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday.

The case centered on two incidents involving Leon Stark. On 9 October 2023, CCTV footage from a KFC branch showed Stark deliberately striking the back of the infant’s head with an open hand while his partner’s back was turned. Three days later, on 12 October, the court heard Stark was the only adult caring for Leon when he subjected the baby to traumatic shaking. Prosecutors said the episode caused severe brain, eye and spinal injuries consistent with abusive head trauma.

After the later assault, Stark contacted emergency services and claimed he had placed Leon in a crib and found him unresponsive, describing a red rash. Leon was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital and then transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Medical experts later determined the injuries were unsurvivable,...