'Happy slap' monster faces life for murdering 15-month-old baby

Darren Newton, from Earby, on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border, appeared a loving father figure to Charlie Hunt, the son of his partner Laura Chapman, but hid his "dark and wicked side".

The 32-year-old took pleasure in slapping and hitting Charlie whenever left alone with the child, filming the attacks on his mobile phone and keeping the clips for his own enjoyment.

Jurors and court staff were left visibly shocked as Charlie's screams and cries rang out when the clips were played of Newton abusing the sobbing child.

The factory worker gave the clips titles, including "Crying, no toys in pen, ahhhh", "Squeezing toe in cot", "Two minutes of pain" and "Shivering no water", taken on a November night when Charlie was naked in an empty bath.

In one graphic clip, titled "Happy Slap", filmed two weeks before Charlie died, and a precursor to the fatal attack, Newton is seen to slap the child 13 times on the head as he screams and cries.

Newton had admitted 12 counts of child cruelty caught on camera and found by police after his arrest.

Following the three-week trial a jury found him guilty of murder and one count of child cruelty.

The jury, which spent just 40 minutes deliberating, cleared him on a further count of child cruelty.

Newton faces a mandatory life sentence later today for the murder which took place on November 19 last year.

Charlie's parents have branded Newton "evil" and a "monster".

Newton sat expressionless, staring blankly ahead, as the guilty verdict was returned.

Charlie's mother had split with the boy's father and met Newton in early 2009, after moving in next door to him, where he lived with his parents in Earby.

She thought Newton, who has no previous convictions, a quiet, caring and loving man, good with Charlie though "protective" over his mobile phone.

The attacks began last June, when Charlie was barely a year old, with Newton gradually hitting the child harder and harder, until his death six months later.

In September he was taken to hospital suffering "fits" which doctors, unaware of the abuse, could not explain.

On November 5 Newton recorded the "Happy Slap" video where Newton slaps the child on the head 13 times in a prolonged attack as Charlie screams and cries in agony.

On November 19 last year, Newton finished his shift at a local factory and was home at 2.30pm.

Three hours later Charlie was dead, after a final assault from Newton.

Rushed to Airedale Hospital, near Keighley, after collapsing at home, doctors noticed bruises on his right eyelid, right cheek and right big toe.

Newton's mother went in the ambulance with Charlie and after calling Ms Chapman to tell her to go to the hospital, Newton went off to play snooker.

A post-mortem examination found the repeated slaps to Charlie's head had caused extensive bleeding to his retina and brain, swelling to the brain and deep bruising to the top of the head.

There was also an area of "dead" brain tissue.

Newton was arrested for murder and his phone seized and examined by detectives who found the clips.

Manchester Crown Court heard the explanation for them was the defendant enjoyed keeping and replaying the clips to himself.

In the witness box Newton could give no explanation as to why he carried out the attacks.

He suggested he resented working long hours then having to look after Ms Chapman's child.

But he denied he took any pleasure from hitting Charlie - a claim rejected by the jury.

Screams and the plaintive sobbing of Charlie Hunt rang out in the hushed courtroom as the videos of his abuse were first seen during the trial.

As court staff wiped away tears, shocked jurors held hands over their mouths in horror when they viewed the child in agony at the hands of Darren Newton.

The videos rank as some of the most disturbing evidence exhibits ever seen in a British courtroom, legal sources said.

Many of the clips begin with Charlie Hunt, who was 10 months old when first attacked, filmed sitting quietly, in his high chair or on a bean bag, gurgling to himself.

He is then slapped by Newton on the top of his head, particularly vulnerable for a child.

Charlie is heard to yelp, then there is a pause, an intake of breath from the startled youngster, before he begins to bawl and scream in pain.

He raises a hand to his face in defence, looks around in obvious confusion, then the assaults continue.

No single blow is fatal, but after suffering months of such attacks, the child had a "dead" area of brain tissue, bleeding and bruising to his brain and by the final, fatal assault was virtually blind, with his retina damaged and optic nerve detached.

Prosecutors say the attacks had been growing in intensity over the months and in the last one Newton must have hit Charlie harder than ever before, causing his collapse and death.

Charlie's parents, Richard Hunt and Laura Chapman, fled court when the clips were played again during the case and some jurors covered their eyes to avoid watching the video a second time.

Police detectives who worked on the case have been offered counselling after having to repeatedly view the clips to prepare for the court case.

Lancashire Police has not released the video. A spokeswoman said the images would be too upsetting for the general public to view.

The parents of Charlie Hunt today branded their son's killer an "evil monster" and said they hope he "rots in hell".

Laura Chapman, 30, had to relive her child's agony by watching the graphic videos Darren Newton had secretly taken while abusing her baby.

Ms Chapman, who split up with Charlie's father, Richard Hunt, 44, when her child was four months old, said today: "I hate him, I hope he rots in hell.

"I was hysterical when I had to watch the videos - I was disgusted.

"It was extremely difficult to watch them - to see someone you love that much get hurt by someone that you trusted.

"I felt horrible for months because Charlie must have been thinking 'where's Mummy?' because we were so close, 'where's my mummy while this is happening to me?'

"I entrusted him with the care of the one main thing in my life and for him to do that is a betrayal of my son, myself and everything I know.

"Any mother could imagine how hard it is to see their son in that much pain.

"If I'd had any suspicions about what had been going on, then I would probably be in the dock for murder. I'd have killed Darren."

Ms Chapman first met Newton after moving in next door to where he lived with his parents in Earby, Lancashire, in early 2009.

At the time she was being monitored by social services and her other two children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were in care.

But Newton had a job at a local factory and seemed a steady and reliable partner, even loving towards Charlie though he was not his father.

"When I first left Charlie with Darren it was short periods at first, to make sure that Charlie was okay with him - that he was happy with him being around," Ms Chapman added.

"I don't know why he did it - it's been going through my head. It could be anything, it could be jealousy of how much I loved Charlie.

"He put us through a trial. He is evil and twisted for what he did to Charlie and for putting everyone through this.

"Any mother would love to have been mother of that little boy.

"I just want Charlie remembered as a happy, beautiful, bubbly little boy who everyone captured in their hearts."

Charlie's father, Richard Hunt added: "He was a cheeky little monkey, always laughing with a cheeky smile. That's how I want to remember him.

"Now obviously he is gone and he's been taken away by a sick monster.

"It's just incomprehensible - why somebody like him would do this to a 15-month-old boy who can't protect himself.

"I had to walk out of court. I couldn't handle hearing my boy crying like that, he was crying for help and there was no-one there to help him."