Father guilty of baby son's death

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/south_yorkshire/7506087.stm

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A man has been convicted of murdering his son by banging his head and shaking him when he would not stop crying.

The jury at Sheffield Crown Court took one hour to find Courtney Bryan guilty of the murder of 11-week-old Amaraye.

Bryan, 29, admitted the manslaughter of the little boy, but denied murder. He was told he must serve at least 20 years in prison.

The child died three days after the attack at the couple's home in Upperthorpe, Sheffield, in May 2007.

Broken bones

The court heard Bryan took the baby to hospital with his partner Ginna Gobran, 21, but - before they got inside - he persuaded her to go to a park and then home.

He only went back after Ms Gobran threatened to call the police.

The baby died in hospital three days after being attacked

Bryan, originally from Aspley in Nottingham, was also found guilty of cruelty to two other babies, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

The court heard how Bryan had shaken these babies while he was in relationships with their mothers between 1998 and 2000, leaving them with broken bones.

The cases were investigated by Nottinghamshire Police but on both occasions Bryan was not prosecuted.

Outside court Det Sgt Delphine Waring, from South Yorkshire Police, said: "Courtney Bryan took the defenceless life of little Ameraye, an 11-week-old baby, in a cruel intentional way.

"The Gobran family will never get over their tragic loss but at least this verdict will do something to assist in providing them with justice and some degree of closure."