WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Gareth Stark, 38, was jailed for manslaughter and battery after he assaulted his three-month-old son Leon in a Stafford KFC and then fatally shook him days later
A dad who attacked his three-month-old baby in KFC before ‘violently’ shaking him to death days later has been jailed. Gareth Stark was captured on CCTV when he ‘deliberately’ smacked the back of little Leon Stark’s head while in the fast-food outlet in Stafford.
Merely three days afterwards, he inflicted multiple brain, eye and spinal injuries on his baby during a moment of ‘forceful’ shaking when he was the sole carer at home. The 38-year-old rang 999 but lied, alleging he had placed Leon in his crib and discovered him ‘unresponsive’ with a red rash on his body half an hour later.
Young Leon was hurried to hospital but could not be saved and passed away a week later, reports Birmingham Live. Stark, from Masefield Drive, Stafford, was today (Friday, 15 May) sentenced to nine years for manslaughter and battery.
Delivering the sentence at Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Farrer KC stated the assault in KFC was ‘not a forceful blow’ and that Stark did not ‘intend to cause Leon injury’.
However, he said Stark inflicted a ‘traumatic shaking injury’ on his baby just days later and ‘acted in gross breach of trust’. He noted Leon was ‘extremely vulnerable’ due to his age, adding: “You obviously knew that and it should have been obvious to you that forcefully shaking him was highly likely to cause, at least, serious harm.”
Stark pleaded guilty to battery on 9 October 2023, and manslaughter on 20 October 2023, both on a basis – he confessed to ‘recklessly assaulting’ Leon in KFC and three days later, was unable to soothe his crying so ‘momentarily shook him in frustration’.
The court was informed that mother Laura Willey had an ‘medically uneventful pregnancy’ before Leon was delivered via caesarean section in July 2023. The infant was in ‘good condition’, in ‘good health’ and was making ‘steady developmental progress’ prior to his untimely death.
Stark and Ms Willey were with their son at KFC when the father ‘deliberately struck’ the child on the back of his head with an open hand while holding him on 9 October 2023.
Leon was left ‘visibly upset’, prosecutor Lisa Hancox stated. CCTV footage from KFC, shown in court, captured Stark attacking his child while Ms Willey’s back was turned.
On 12 October, Stark inflicted fatal injuries on Leon during an ‘episode of violent shaking’ at the family’s home in Stafford. The father – who had been alone with Leon – dialled emergency services just before 3.10pm, the court was told.
Leon was rushed to the Royal Stoke University Hospital before being transferred to an intensive care unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
It subsequently became apparent that the baby’s injuries were ‘unsurvivable’ and he passed away on 20 October. Experts suspected Leon had suffered ‘abusive head trauma’, with the medical cause of death later determined as traumatic head injury.
The force Stark used would have been ‘clearly recognisable’ as ‘excessive’, stated Ms Hancox. She added that the father must have ‘appreciated’ that shaking his son was ‘likely to result in harm’.
Defending, Justin Jarmola referred to a ‘momentary shake of Leon’, adding: “He shall never forgive himself. This guilt shall be with him forever.”
Jarmola mentioned that Stark has a ‘long history of mental illness’ and is prone to difficulties managing any ‘frustration, anger and agitation’.
The court was informed that Stark received a six-month conditional discharge for criminal damage in 2023. Mr Jarmola further added: “There was a lack of premeditation. He does otherwise, in effect, have positive good character.”
Judge Farrer recognised that Stark suffers from anxiety and bipolar disorder but stated he was ‘medicated and not symptomatic’ when he inflicted Leon’s fatal injuries.
In a victim impact statement to the court, Leon’s mother, Lauren Willey, said her life “horrifically fell apart” on the day her “beautiful and handsome” baby died.
“I believed Gareth Stark would never cause harm to anyone,” she said. I believed in the convincing lies that Gareth told about how desperate he was to have a family.”
Commenting on the case, James Leslie Francis, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “As a father, Gareth Stark had a fundamental duty to love and protect his son.
“Instead, he betrayed that trust in the most devastating way imaginable, causing injuries so severe that Leon did not survive. He misled paramedics and investigators, claiming he had simply found Leon unresponsive.
“It was only through meticulous police investigation, expert medical evidence, and CCTV footage that the truth of his offending came to light.
“The Crown Prosecution Service will vigorously prosecute those who inflict harm on children and those who cannot protect themselves to ensure they face the full force of the law.
“We hope that seeing Gareth Stark sentenced today brings Leon’s family and loved ones a small measure of comfort at an incredibly painful time.”