Sadist who killed baby gets 20 years

A man who choked his seven-week-old son to death with a baby wipe to stop him crying has been jailed for life.

Ian Hunt, 26, killed baby Christian at the family home in St Helens, Merseyside, in September last year. He also broke eight of the child's ribs and inflicted other injuries, Liverpool Crown Court was told.

Mr Justice Silber described Hunt's actions as "sadistic" and ordered him to serve a minimum of 20 years. He said: "While any other human being would try to comfort Christian you instead deliberately and cruelly forced a baby wipe into his mouth and down his windpipe so he tragically died of asphyxia. All these offences were committed on a helpless seven-week-old baby who you, as his father, should have been protecting. Instead you embarked on a series of appalling acts of aggression."

The court heard that Hunt, who pleaded guilty to murder at an earlier hearing, broke the child's ribs by squeezing him to stop him crying. He also inflicted other injuries on the baby which the prosecution claimed were sexually motivated. Hunt denied the assaults were for his own sexual gratification but to inflict pain on the little boy. He blamed his behaviour on the pressures of fatherhood.