POLICE involved in the case of a father who poisoned and tried to kill his newborn son last night described him as pure evil.

The man was convicted of attempted murder this week and faces a possible indefinite sentence for the protection of the public.

If such a sentence is passed, the 30-year-old will be freed from prison only when the Parole Board considers he is no longer a risk.

Last night, Detective Constable Vince Myhan, of the Darlington child abuse investigation team, said: “He is a very, very dangerous man.”

The father was found guilty of administering a poison so as to endanger life, child cruelty and attempted murder after a three-week trial.

During the case, at Teesside Crown Court, the jury heard that he smothered his son and gave him the painkillers Tramadol and codeine.

The jury heard the boy endured 18 episodes of illness – some of them life-threatening – in the first three months of his life.

His unexplained illnesses baffled doctors at four North- East hospitals until blood and urine tests showed the presence of the adult drugs.

Det Con Myhan said: “That baby was dead three times and it is a tribute to the medical staff at those hospitals that he is still with us today.

“The boy’s father has shown absolutely no remorse, effectively blaming the mother and forcing her to come to court to give evidence.

“In interview, he had absolutely no emotion, none at all. Looking into his eyes was like looking into blackness – a pit – pure evil.

“There was no emotion, no feeling, no remorse and, the scariest thing of all, is that he had absolutely no conscience whatsoever.

“He gives the impression he is a loving, caring man, but, in reality, he is an unbelievably devious calculating, deceitful individual.”

The baby suffered cardiac and respiratory arrest during at least one episode of illness.

On the majority of occasions when the child’s health became serious, he was in the sole care of his father – either at home in Darlington, or in hospital.

Trial judge Peter Fox, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, will sentence the father after a psychiatric assessment.

The judge upheld a legal ruling, despite a challenge from The Northern Echo, which means the identity of the poisoner cannot be revealed.