A boyfriend beat his girlfriend’s six-week-old baby to death on her first night out after giving birth, Newport Crown Court has heard.
Michael Pearce, 32, was left alone with little Alfie Sullock while she had a girls’ night out with friends to celebrate his birth.
But a jury heard how Pearce attacked Alfie with bottles of bubble bath, baby powder and hit him with a baseball boot.
Pearce texted mum Donna Sullock, 29, to say Alfie was fine – but four minutes later he dialled 999 to say the baby had stopped breathing.
Prosecutor Michael Mather-Lees said: “Alfie was repeatedly beaten with objects and sustained gratuitous injuries.
“The baby was beaten with a shoe or sandal and the bottom of a plastic bottle.
“This was not a one-off moment of exasperation which can tragically happen with a screaming child.”
Holiday rep Donna had discovered she was pregnant with Alfie after a whirlwind romance in Crete.
She returned home to Cardiff when she was nine weeks pregnant and met Pearce.
Mr Mather-Lees said: “Donna was not looking for a relationship but they got on well and began going out for a few dates.
“In general Pearce behaved perfectly well but he began to show somewhat obsessive tendencies and began a little over attentive.”
Little Alfie was born in July 2013 and the jury were shown pictures of him as a “happy and healthy child”.
Pearce offered to babysit on the night of Friday, August 16, at his home in Nelson.
Newport Crown Court heard how it was the first time he had been left alone with little Alfie.
Mr Mather-Lees said: “Before Donna went out the couple took Alfie to a local pub.
“He was being a little premature as to the state of their relationship.
“One of the things he asked her was if she would she give him a child. She said: “no”.”
While babysitting Pearce sent Donna two pictures of little Alfie asleep on the settee in his Dumbo babygrow with matching blue socks and mittens.
Mr Mather-Lees said: “The baby was fine when she left him and after receiving texts from the worried mother Pearce replied: “You can trust me you know”.”
The court heard Pearce sent her a text at 7.05pm saying the baby was fine and still sleeping.
But the jury was played a harrowing 999 call which Pearce made just four minutes later.
An ambulance was rushed to Pearce’s home and found Alfie “blue, cold and totally lifeless”.
He was taken to University Hospital Wales in Cardiff where he had been born just six weeks earlier.
Doctors found Alfie had extensive brain damage and severe asphyxia and his life support machine was turned off.
A post-mortem showed Alfie had died of blunt trauma injury and extensive bleeding into the brain.
The jury heard he has not been able to give any explanation how Alfie sustained his injuries.
It was shown images taken from the baseball boot and other items which gave “distinct match pattern” with the injuries found on little Alfie’s head and body.
Mr Mather-Lees said: “The child was beaten by Pearce, he inflicted the injuries, he killed the baby.”
Pearce denies murder and manslaughter.
The trial continues.