Man found guilty of killing 11-week-old baby

Haroldas Bugaila will be sentenced later this week

Author: Liam ArrowsmithPublished 9th Aug 2021

A man from Boston has been found guilty of killing his 11-week-old son at Lincoln Crown Court.

Haroldas Bugaila denied the charges against him but was found guilty by a jury on Monday and now faces life in prisons.

He was arrested shortly after baby Martynas was taken to hospital in March 2019.

Bugaila was also found guilty of assaulting the baby's twin, who was left with serious brain damage.

Jonas Hankin QC, prosecuting, told the jury at Lincoln Crown Court that Bugaila shouted “Come. There's something wrong.”

Mr Hankin said “Aliona ran upstairs and looked in the cot. Martynas was on his back. He looked completely white. His eyes were closed and he wasn’t breathing.”

The mother then tried to resuscitate the boy using a method she was shown at hospital.

“She says he was turning blue as she was doing it.”

The defendant dialled 999 but did not manage to complete the call due to language problems

The baby's mother then took Martynas to hospital in a taxi and he was later transferred to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.

Doctors later found his injuries to be unsurvivable and his life support was withdrawn.

Bugaila was asked by his barrister Allison Summers QC “Did you harm Martynas in any way on the afternoon of 27 March?” He replied “No, I did not.”

He also denied harming Martynas in the days before 27 March 2019 and claimed he had never seen anyone harm the baby.

Miss Summers asked him “If the medical evidence is right and these injuries have been inflicted on this child by an adult, do you know who did this?” He replied “No”.

He was asked if his partner may have caused the injuries. He responded “I cannot imagine that.”

Bugaila was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on Wednesday.