BREAKING: Blackpool dad jailed for life after being found guilty of murdering his baby son

David Christie, 35, of Wyre Grove, Blackpool, was found guilty by jurors following a trial at Preston Crown Court over the death of his six week old son Marshall.

He was sentenced straight away by The Honourable Mr Justice Jay, who said he must serve a minimum term of 12 years.

Marshall Christie died from serious head injuries on March 15, 2017.

The court heard the dad, who claimed he had shaken his son in an attempt to wake him after finding him lifeless in his bed, called his sister before he called an ambulance.

Various medical staff gave harrowing evidence during the case of the tot's injuries.

Doctors had found bruising on his flank, his thigh, grazing and bruising to his genital area, linear bruising to his eyelids, a cluster of pinprick blood spots on his forehead and a bruise on his head.

The results of scans of his brain, spine and abdomen, revealed bleeding in and around the brain, swelling to his brain and bleeding down the spinal column.

A CT scan also showed fresh broken ribs.

The court previously heard Christie was the sole guardian for Marshall while his partner, Sarah Lowe, was treated for schizophrenia at Wythenshawe Hospital, Ormskirk Hospital, and The Harbour mental health hospital in Blackpool.

Detective Inspector Paddy O’Neill, of Lancashire Constabulary’s Force Major Investigation Team, said: “In his short life Marshall Christie should have been able to look to his father for the love and protection of a parent. However, having heard all the evidence, the jury concluded that on the 10th of March 2017 when David Christie shook his son so violently so as to cause the baby multiple rib fractures and catastrophic and unsurvivable brain injuries, he did so with the intent to cause Marshall serious harm.

"They did not accept Christie’s submission that he was trying to resuscitate the baby having found him unresponsive.

"It is right and proper then that he has been convicted of murder.

"Tragically, our investigation identified that Marshall had suffered previous rib fractures and another brain injury that pre-dated the injuries Marshall suffered on the 10th of March, and those occurred whilst Marshall was in the sole care of his father.

“My thoughts remain with Marshall and indeed his wider family who have been put in an insufferable position by Christie’s actions, and yet have conducted themselves with dignity and restraint since the horrific incident 12 months ago. I hope that this conviction can offer them some comfort as they try to move on with their lives.”

(developing)