I got justice for my brain-damaged baby son when I secretly recorded my drunken fiance confessing he dropped and shook him
Gemma Smith, 29, was heartbroken she was told by doctors that her baby James had suffered a brain bleed
A MUM has revealed she helped to put her fiance in jail by secretly recording him confessing he had dropped and shaken their nine-week-old son.
Gemma Smith, 29, was heartbroken when her newborn baby James was taken to hospital with a brain bleed.
Upon arrival, doctors declared to the shocked mum how her baby’s injuries were non-accidental.
Gemma revealed that it was only after coming home from the children’s ward that her “caring” partner John Woollacott, 51, from Shropshire, had admitted he had caused the injuries.
John has now been jailed for three years after admitting to two counts of unlawful wounding.
A devastated Gemma said: “The damage done to James was irreparable. He was brain-damaged and struggles with basic functions like speech.
“I can never forgive his dangerous daddy for what he did. I’m just glad my taped confession helped nail him.”
Gemma described how John, who is 22 years her senior, had been her partner for five years before she realised she was having his baby.
Throughout the pregnancy, John was by her side every step of the way, including coming to every scan, ante-natal class and holding her hand through the 13-hour labour.
Following the birth in 2015, John, who worked as a postman, quickly learned how to clean and change James, and was hands on with feeding and nappy changing.
She felt her baby was in “safe hands” and it wasn’t until she heard James crying in the night one day that she got the feeling something was wrong.
Gemma said: “Something wasn’t right, and my instincts told me to throw the duvet back, jump out of bed and go down to help John.
“James didn’t look right and when he let out a horrifying gurgle, panic rose in me.”
The couple dialled 999 and an ambulance took the tot to hospital, with Gemma hoping that James was just ill with a bug.
She added: “When we got to the hospital I could see the worry etched on the faces of the doctors and nurses.”
James underwent a series of scans and tests and at first, medics thought he had some kind of infection.
It was terrifying but sepsis and meningitis were ruled out and eventually, after an exhausting day of tests, the doctors had a diagnosis.
Gemma revealed that the doctors told her James had a bleed on the brain and the “injury was non-accidental”.
She said: “My mind reeled as I listened to lots of medical jargon I didn’t understand. But the message was clear - someone had done this to James.
“We were desperate for answers but the staff were tight-lipped and no one could tell us anything. John and I collapsed in each other’s arms, sobbing, when a woman from social services came into the room.”
WHAT IS SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME?
Shaken baby syndrome is a form of abusive head trauma.
It is preventable and therefore considered a severe form of physical child abuse.
When a baby is shaken their brain cells are destroyed and it prevents their brain from getting enough oxygen.
Key signs a baby has been shaken are:
- irritability
- lethargy
- poor eating
- seizures
- pale or blue skin
- breathing problems.
- tremors
- vomiting
In more severe cases a baby may be left paralysed or in a coma.
Other injuries that may not be initially noticeable include bleeding in the brain and eye, damage to the spinal cord and neck and fractures of the ribs, skull and bones.
It is estimated one in four babies die from being shaken by an adult.
What to do:
If you think your baby has been injured by shaking see a doctor immedietely.
Getting medical help right away may save your child's life or prevent serious injury.
Source: NHS and Mayo Clinic
Medical staff told her an investigation was underway, and they could only see their baby under supervision.
Gemma said: “My mind was racing. I loved James more than anything in the world, I thought I’d done everything I could to protect my baby.
“But later that day, John made a shocking confession. He told me he'd accidentally dropped James on the floor, but had been too scared to admit it to me, or the doctors earlier.”
She reassured her fiance that they’d get through it together, but it wasn’t until later, when John came home from the pub drunk after being with mates, that he revealed more information.
Gemma said: “His emotions were boiling over. ‘I think I might have hurt James,’ he cried. ‘I’m not sure but I think I shook him.’
“I was trembling with shock and anger when I told John I needed a moment to think and went downstairs.”
After heading downstairs to get some space, she decided to act fast and put her phone on record to get a full confession out of him.
I can never forgive his dangerous daddy for what he did. I’m just glad my taped confession helped nail him.
Gemma Smith
She said: “I carefully slid the phone onto the bed, where it recorded every word of John’s confession.
“He admitted that he’d shaken James that morning, and that it must have been him that had hurt him.
“I was horrified that the man lying next to me was capable of inflicting pain on our gorgeous baby boy.”
The next morning she phoned her solicitor and arranged for John to go to the local police station to make a new statement.
Gemma saw James whenever she was allowed, but John remained under investigation, and her visits still had to be supervised.
She said: “It was four agonising months before James was allowed back into my care. In his short life he’d spent longer away from me than he’d spent with me.
“The day he finally moved back in with me was the happiest of my life. He arrived at home just before Christmas, and it was the best present anyone could ever receive.
“A few days before his trial, John admitted two counts of unlawful wounding and was jailed for three years.
“John looked shell-shocked when he was led away to the cells, but it was James who was left with a life sentence.”
*Names have been changed
We shares a doll that showed the horrifying reality of what really happens to a baby’s brain when they are shaken.
If a baby has been shaken you should seek medical help immediately as it could save their life or prevent serious injury.
We revealed the cruel couple who subjected their five-week-old baby girl to torturous abuse left her with “catastrophic life-changing” injuries while they went for a NANDO’S.