Baby Adiyat Hossain went into cardiac arrest after suffering “extreme whiplash” injuries on June 10, 2022 – he remained in intensive care until life support was switched off four months later.
X-rays revealed that in the weeks prior to the fatal incident Adiyat had also suffered six fractured ribs, fractures to his left and right shoulder blades, and a fracture in his right arm.
Dad Mohammed Kabir Hossain, 47, is on trial accused of manslaughter.
James Dawes KC told a jury that the medical evidence and expert opinion was that someone had assaulted Adiyat.
“The mechanism of that assault was by shaking, shaking violently to cause extreme whiplash and cardiac arrest. It is the prosecution’s case that it was Mr Hossain who did it,” Mr Dawes said.
Hossain’s wife, Fatema Mansur, said her son had been well that morning and was asleep in his cot at 12.04pm when she left to go shopping.
Hossain had been alone with Adiyat at their flat on Long Lane for 13 minutes before he made a panicked phone call to Ms Mansur at 12.17pm.
Hossain then phoned 999 at 12.23pm, telling the operator: “He was ok. I just go to the toilet and come in from the toilet, he’s in the bed sleeping and I find out he can’t breathe.”
Mr Dawes told the jury: “Unfortunately, none of that is true.”
It was during the 13-minute period that Hossain had assaulted his son, Mr Dawes said.
“Adiyat was shaken so hard that he started to bleed within his eyes, he bled in the membrane around his brain, he stopped breathing and his heart stopped,” Mr Dawes alleged.
The jury were shown three short clips of Hossain “rough handling” Adiyat in the weeks prior to June 10.
“Adiyat suffered bodily injuries on at least two if not more occasions prior to June 10. These injuries were serious and they would have caused Adiyat pain when they were caused and would have caused Adiyat to cry out,” Mr Dawes said.
When Hossain was arrested on June 12 he gave a prepared statement then answered no comment to all further questions.
He said: “I am mortified to hear of the condition of my beloved child Adiyat. Adiyat is our second child and was a planned pregnancy; he was born by elective C section.
“Adiyat is loved and cared for, to our knowledge he has not been unwell.
“On June 10, 2022, I fed Adiyat and placed him in his cot. I later went to check on Adiyat and noticed that the way that he was resting was unusual.
“I noticed he was floppy and unresponsive. I telephoned for the ambulance and was very frightened and scared by Adiyat’s condition.
“Adiyat has been loved and cherished by me and my wife. I have not done anything to harm my child. I have no idea how my child has sustained any of the injuries. I deny any allegations in connection with my child.”
Various experts concluded that the injuries were “inflicted” and not caused by disease or genetic condition, Mr Dawes said.
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Forensic pathologist Dr Nathanial Cary gave Adiyat’s cause of deaths as 1a complications arising from cardiac arrest and 1b head injury, stating the injuries are consistent with “non-accidental injury”.
The trial at Inner London Crown Court began on Tuesday, November 4, and is expected to last up to six weeks.
