Baby killer's sentencing delayed after wife claims to have been misled
A man who killed his baby faces a further wait for sentence after his wife accused him of "misleading" her in a letter to a judge.
A man who killed his baby faces a further wait for sentence after his wife accused him of "misleading" her in a letter to a judge.
Supermarket worker David Sinclair, 34, shook five-month-old Joshua in a fit of anger, causing him to die in hospital hours later.
The High Court in Glasgow heard Sinclair was alone in his home in East Kilbride and attempting to feed his son, who had been unsettled, when he "became so angry that he shook him for approximately five seconds".
Sinclair was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of culpable homicide days before he was due to face trial.
He returned to court for sentencing on Thursday but proceedings were delayed after a letter from his wife Kirsty Sinclair, who is pregnant, was handed to Judge Lord Bracadale, accusing Sinclair of "misleading" her.
Previously, the court heard Mrs Sinclair was standing by her husband, who she married on what would have been Joshua's first birthday on July 9 2013.
Sinclair's lawyer Iain Duguid QC told the court: "Her clear position is that the suggestion that she was standing by him is misplaced.
"If that is her position which she has adopted since the time of the plea, I really have nothing to say about that."
The judge said the letter suggested Sinclair "effectively misled his wife from the word go over a lengthy period of time".
Mr Duguid said he was "not certain" the suggestion was accurate and claimed Mrs Sinclair had been party to investigations into whether the child suffered from genetic conditions, which were later found to have no bearing on his death.
He said the investigations were to discover whether Joshua had conditions which would have made him susceptible to a fatal level of injury, rather than an attempt to absolve Sinclair of responsibility.
The court heard Sinclair has not seen his wife since the previous court hearing last month and the couple's marriage is assumed to be in doubt.
The court was told Mrs Sinclair had left the couple's home the day her son died - December 6, 2012 - to meet her mother and sister, and minutes later Sinclair phoned her to come home as Joshua was not breathing properly, before calling 999.
Initially the cause of Joshua's death was unascertained, but the case was reviewed by a team of medical experts, including Dr Peter Richards, consultant paediatric neuro-surgeon at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.
He said the baby's injuries were "compatible with a shaking event where a carer, who has not planned to injure a child, has a momentary loss of control with tragic consequences".
Mr Duguid said Sinclair claimed to love Joshua and added: "All the people surrounding him say he is a good parent."
Lord Bracadale adjourned sentence until Friday in light of the letter.