The parents of a two-week-old baby have been remanded in custody accused of murdering their baby in hospital.
Daniel Gunter, 25, and Sophie Staden, 20, are accused of killing baby Brendan Staden.
They allegedly killed him on March 5 at Yeovil District Hospital in Somerset.
Both defendants are also charged with causing or allowing Brendon’s death.
The charges allege that as “members of the same household and in regular contact” with Brendon, they either caused his death or failed to protect him from a foreseeable “substantial risk of serious bodily harm.”
The pair were excused from attending a brief hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Monday.
Robert Yates, prosecuting, told the court that initial indications were that Brendon died from a “severe skull fracture” while in the hospital’s neonatal unit.
Mr Yates said Brendan, who was born prematurely two weeks ago, was “progressing well”.
An autopsy will be carried out in due course.
Rupert Morgan-Jones, for Staden, and Lucy Taylor, for Gunter, did not apply for bail.
Judge William Hart scheduled a preliminary and preparation hearing for April 5.
A trial date has not been set but is likely to be heard by a Superior Court judge.
Avon and Somerset Police previously said officers were called to the hospital and the force’s major crime team launched an investigation.
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