South Yorkshire man charged with murder after death of nine-week-old baby

Leon Mathias, from Barnsley, will appear at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court tomorrow, Tuesday 2 February. He has also been charged with Section 18 assault on the same child.

The tot was taken to hospital after emergency services were called to a property in the Great Houghton area of the town just before 9pm on Friday, 30 November 2018 but died on the afternoon of Monday, 3 December 2018.

His family continues to be supported by specialist officers.

Senior investigating officer, detective chief inspector Mark Oughton, said: “I understand this extremely tragic case caused significant distress to the local community in November 2018. The loss of a baby’s life is truly devastating, and the thoughts of my team and I continue to be with those affected.

“As this case continues, please be mindful that it is against the law to post comments that could risk unfairly influencing any potential court case and the ongoing investigation. The punishment if you are found to be in contempt of court is a fine or can be a two-year jail term. The comments on our social media pages are being closely monitored.”

A 29-year old woman from Barnsley who was previously arrested on suspicion of section 18 wounding has now been released with no further action.

Anyone with concerns or information is asked to call the police on 101, quoting incident number 851 of 30 November 2018.