18 December 2012 Last updated at 10:36 ET

Richard Morgan convicted of killing baby Slater Sharkey

A 32-year-old man who beat and shook a baby to death has been found guilty of manslaughter.

Richard Morgan, of Tantobie, County Durham, was convicted of killing 13-month-old Slater Sharkey, at Newcastle Crown Court.

Jurors heard how Morgan harmed the boy for 18 hours before his death in December 2010.

Slater's mother Rachel Peacock was convicted of child cruelty but cleared of causing or allowing her son's death.

The pair, who are no longer together, are due to be sentenced later.

Violently shaken

During the trial, prosecutor Andrew Robertson QC told jurors Slater died of "catastrophic brain damage" at the hands of Morgan, who was looking after him while Peacock went to the local shops.

He was taken to hospital but died hours later.

Slater was found to have suffered multiple head wounds consistent with being beaten or struck against something, and had bruises on his legs which suggested he had been gripped tightly.

A pathologist found he also had "extensive and severe" bleeding in his eyes and bleeding and swelling to the brain - a sign he was violently shaken.