Father given 23 year sentence for murdering son

A father has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for the murder of his 11-week-old baby boy who suffered a severe brain injury at his hands.

Haroldas Bugaila (29) was arrested on suspicion of murder after Baby Martinas was rushed to Boston Pilgrim Hospital on March 27 2019. The baby had become unwell at the family home in Granville Street, Boston and was taken to the hospital by the baby’s mother. The boy was later transferred to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, where his injuries were so severe that the decision was made to withdraw his life support. He sadly died on April 2, 2019.

Baby Martinas was diagnosed with a severe brain injury, which was shown to be as a result of an assault.

Bugaila denied one charge of murder and one charge of grievous bodily harm against Martinas. He also denied two further charges of grievous bodily harm against another child. The six week trial at Lincoln Crown Court ended on Monday 9th August with the jury finding Bugaila guilty of murder and a previous serious assault on Baby Martinas. He was also found guilty of two serious assaults on the baby’s twin.

Detective Superintendent Karl Whiffen from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) said: “Today at Lincoln Crown Court Haroldas Bugaila has been sentenced to 23 years for the murder of Martinas Bugaila and the serious assault of his twin, who has sustained life changing injuries which will require care for the remainder of life. He has also been sentenced for previous serious assaults on both children that were only discovered after review by expert paediatric specialists.

“This has been an incredibly difficult enquiry for the EMSOU homicide investigation team, which has taken almost two and a half years to reach its conclusion. Gathering evidence from expert witnesses in a case such as this can literally take years to ensure that we present a coherent and compelling case that enables the jury to reach a conclusive verdict as they have done in this case.

“The emotive nature of child death cases means that the investigation team, and in particular the two officers in the case, worked under a tremendous amount of pressure in the knowledge that should we not hold Haroldas Bugaila accountable, he would be free to offend again and it would be tremendously difficult to mitigate the threat this man presents.

“I’m tremendously proud of all of the officers who have worked on this case, from those who attended the harrowing initial scene, to all of the investigation team. Tragically it is a case that none of them will forget but thankfully they can all reflect on the fact that this man will not be free to offend again. Our sincerest hope is that the surviving twin will continue to recover.”