Dad who searched ‘child crying makes me indignant’ admits killing six-week-old son
Father Peter Sayle, 32, is facing a lengthy jail sentence after admitting killing his baby Huxley, who died from traumatic head injuries at their home in Fulwood, Preston
Peter Sayle admitted manslaughter(Image: Lancs Police)
A father has confessed to the manslaughter of his six-week-old son, who he killed in a fit of rage when the infant wouldn’t sleep. Peter Sayle, 32, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the fifth day of his trial at Preston Crown Court. The prosecution accepted this plea as an alternative to the murder charge for which he was being tried.
Baby Huxley was urgently taken to Royal Preston Hospital after emergency services were alerted to reports that he wasn’t breathing at the family home in Squires Wood, Fulwood. A scan revealed a head injury and he was moved to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital in the early hours of 14 June 2022.
Despite the best efforts of medical staff, Huxley’s injuries were too severe to sustain life and treatment was withdrawn on 14 July 2022.
On 17 June 2022, Huxley’s father Peter Sayle was arrested at his Fulwood home on suspicion of Section 18 Wounding. During the police interview, Sayle denied any wrongdoing, claiming that any injuries inflicted would have been a result of him performing CPR on Huxley, reports Lancs Live.
After reviewing the results of a CT scan on 22 June 2022, medical experts at the children’s hospital concluded that Huxley had suffered several skull and brain injuries. The report’s author indicated that these injuries would have caused immediate symptoms and were consistent with Huxley having been violently shaken.
On 22 July 2022, with mounting evidence suggesting that Huxley had been deliberately harmed, Sayle was once again arrested on suspicion of murder. He continued to deny any wrongdoing.
A postmortem conducted by the Home Office later determined that baby Huxley’s death was due to a traumatic head injury, ruling out any natural disease as the cause of his sudden collapse.
Dr Alison Armour concluded that the two rib fractures Huxley had sustained were not consistent with injuries caused by CPR, but were more likely inflicted while he was being forcefully gripped or squeezed around the chest during an intense shaking episode.
Sayle was interviewed for the last time on 27 March 2025, where he denied violently shaking Huxley and claimed he had done nothing to precipitate his son’s collapse.
An examination of Sayle’s mobile phone revealed several worrying internet searches made shortly after Huxley’s birth. These included: “tips to deal with frustration and anger”, “baby crying makes me angry dad”, and “I’m getting so angry when baby won’t sleep”.
Now 32 and without a fixed address, Sayle pleaded guilty to Huxley’s manslaughter. He is set to be sentenced at Preston Crown Court on Thursday (12 February).
DCI Andy Fallows, from Lancashire Police’s Force Major Investigation Team, commented: “I welcome today’s manslaughter plea put forward by Peter Sayle. After three and a half years of denials he has finally admitted that he is responsible for assaulting and causing baby Huxley’s death.
“While this has been a particularly sensitive and challenging case, my investigation team’s relentless focus has always been on achieving justice for baby Huxley. Today we have managed to achieve that.”
