Review into baby Brendon’s death finds safeguarding lessons

By Laura Linham 17th Mar 2026

Local News by Laura Linham 1 hour ago

A safeguarding review into the death of two-week-old Brendon Staddon has found there are lessons for agencies across Somerset, but concluded his murder on a Yeovil hospital baby unit could not have been foreseen.

Brendon's father, Daniel Gunter, who is originally from the Street and Glastonbury area, was found guilty of murder in July 2025. Brendon's mother, Sophie Staddon, was cleared of all charges.

The Somerset Safeguarding Children Partnership commissioned an independent Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review to examine multi-agency practice before Brendon's death. In the report, Brendon is referred to as Child C.

The review found there had been concerns about the father's conduct in hospital, but said they were not considered serious enough at the time to justify limiting his access. Its central conclusion was that, despite those known concerns, it could not have been foreseen that Brendon would be murdered by his father in a hospital environment.

Daniel Gunter, 27, sentenced for murdering his 2-week-old son at Yeovil District Hospital's neonatal ward in March 2024.

But the report also makes clear there are important lessons for agencies. It identified the need for stronger information-sharing across services and hospital departments, better ongoing multi-agency risk assessments as new concerns emerge, and closer work with wider family members.

It also said the significance of domestic abuse should have been considered more consistently, alongside the impact of housing on the family's circumstances.

There were signs of stronger practice before Brendon was born. The review found there was evidence of good work during the pre-birth period and that plans had already been developed to begin care proceedings for Brendon's safety once he had been discharged from hospital.

A rapid review carried out immediately after Brendon's death has already led to changes. These include a new tool to help agencies share safeguarding information about vulnerable babies during hospital stays, updates to staff training and risk assessment, and changes to multi-agency safeguarding meetings before vulnerable babies are born.

Brendon was born prematurely at Yeovil District Hospital in February 2024 and died on 5 March that year. Jurors later heard he suffered catastrophic injuries. Father sentenced for murder of newborn son at Yeovil hospital ward and Parents on trial after newborn found with fatal injuries at Somerset hospital previously reported the case in full.

A spokesperson for the Somerset Safeguarding Children Partnership said Brendon's murder was a hugely distressing incident and said every effort must be made to learn from the events leading up to his death. The partnership said many of the recommended changes have already been actioned and that learning from the review will be shared with frontline practitioners.

For readers in Street and Glastonbury, the findings will still land heavily. The review does not say there were no concerns. But it does say the murder itself could not have been predicted — while making clear agencies must now improve how they share information, assess risk and protect vulnerable babies.