Childminder denies shaking baby to death

A baby died after being violently shaken by his childminder in a moment of rage, the Old Bailey was told yesterday.

Joshua Osborne, aged eight months, died of brain damage on 10 July last year, six days after he stopped breathing at the home in south London of Linda Bayfield, 54, who denies murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter.

Nicholas Lorraine-Smith, for the prosecution, said Ms Bayfield, who is registered with Croydon council, had been taking care of Joshua for just over a month before he died. She also looked after his five-year-old sister, Katrina, who was born with cystic fibrosis, and several other children.

He said the injuries which killed Joshua were caused by more violent action than the two shakes that Ms Bayfield said she gave him when he suddenly stopped breathing. The trial continues.