Factory worker found guilty of killing his baby boy

A factory worker who caused catastrophic brain injuries to his 11-week-old baby boy is facing a life sentence after a jury convicted him of murder on Monday.

Haroldas Bugaila carried out the fatal attack on March 27, 2019 after he was briefly left to look after baby Martynas and his twin at the family home in Granville Street, Boston.

Within moments Martynas became lifeless and Bugaila called for help from his partner.

Bugaila also inflicted similar injuries on the twin of Martynas who survived but suffered serious brain damage.

The jury at Lincoln Crown Court this afternoon returned guilty verdicts against Bugaila on four charges including the murder of Martynas.

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

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 carried the baby to a changing table and 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.

Martynas’s mother then rang for a taxi and the child was taken to the Pilgrim Hospital. He was later transferred to the Queen’s Medical Centre at Nottingham. There his injuries were found to be unsurvivable and after life support was withdrawn, he passed away on April 2, 2019.

Mr Hankin said: “The fatal injury sustained by Martynas was deliberately inflicted by his natural father Haroldas Bugaila. The likely mechanism in this case is shaking with or without an impact against a yielding surface.

“The pattern of injuries is entirely typical of deliberately inflicted injury particularly shaking with or without impact with a yielding surface.

“Martynas would have collapsed immediately or within seconds of being assaulted such was the severity of his injury. The evidence supports application of a significant degree of force.

“He was the perpetrator. There is overwhelming evidence of traumatic injury. Not only is there no medical cause for the boy’s injuries but there is clear evidence of mechanical trauma that required force.

“He says he didn’t inflict the injuries and he didn’t see anybody else do so. It is impossible that it was someone other than the defendant who inflicted these injuries.”

Mr Hankin said that the baby was later found also to have older injuries which he described as deliberately inflicted.

He said there was “significant tension” in the parents’ relationship and that during previous arguments the defendant made threats to make the boy cry.

Mr Hankin said that just minutes earlier the father was involved in an argument with Aliona after she confiscated his mobile phone as she believed he was playing on the phone rather than concentrating on looking after the boy.

In evidence Bugaila described himself as “the happiest” when he discovered his partner was pregnant and told the jury he loved Martynas.

He denied harming his baby in any way.

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

Bugaila also denied harming Martynas in the days leading up to March 27, 2019. He said 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”.

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

Haroldas Bugaila, 29, a factory worker, of Granville Street, Boston, denies the murder of Martynas Bugaila on April 2, 2019 and denies causing the baby grievous bodily harm to him between February 5 and March 15, 2019.

He also denies further charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and inflicting grievous bodily harm to Martynas’s brother. He was found guilty of all four charges.

Detective Superintendent Karl Whiffen from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit said: “This has been an incredibly difficult and emotive enquiry for the investigation team who have worked tirelessly and diligently to ensure that Haroldas is held accountable for his actions.”