Chilling details have been read in court of the moments a Dundee man stepped back from drowning a baby.
Jay Dixon held the tot’s head under water before waking the child’s sleeping mother to tell her he “tried to drown him but I stopped myself”.
Last week, Dixon – formerly of Turnberry Avenue – pled guilty carrying out a catalogue of attacks on the baby before it was a month old.
He also admitted courses of vile domestic abuse against two women in Dundee.
The admissions came on Friday, the day he was due to stand trial at the High Court in Stirling and the case was continued until this week for a narration of the facts to be prepared.
The court was told the 23-year-old “frequently” carried out CPR-like compressions on the baby’s chest with such force he was bouncing up and down on the mattress.
In another assault, Dixon lifted the new-born by his neck and began shaking him after becoming frustrated with his crying.
Afterwards, Dixon threw the child onto a bed.
Experts said such assaults could result in “severe and potentially life-threatening injuries”.
Prosecutor Brian Bell told the court the first attack had been carried out on the child when he was just a few days old, at an address in Dundee.
After the baby had been settled in a Moses basket, the mother also fell asleep but woke to hear the child “screaming”.
Mr Bell said: “The accused was holding (the baby) underneath his arms, with his arms outstretched in front of him.
“(The baby’s) face and the top half of his baby grow were soaking.
“Talc was on the baby’s face and some of his baby grow.
“(The mother) asked what happened and the accused said ‘I put (baby’s) head in the bowl of water and tried to drown him but I stopped myself’.”
The bowl of water had been left out by the mother from the last time she had changed the baby’s nappy.
On one occasion, while carrying out CPR-like movements, Dixon told the mother: “It’s better doing this in front of you.
“If I’m on my own doing these things, I don’t think I could stop myself.”
The child was also left with injuries after Dixon propped him up on a washing basket on top of a table and by throwing him so high in the air, his head hit the roof.
He later told the mother the child was not as fragile as had been made out.
He prevented the woman from seeking medical advice until the child was seen by a visiting nurse several days later and bruises were noticed.
The nurse arranged for the baby to be taken to hospital where “significant bruising” was found.
Dixon later admitted the baby had fallen from height.
Details of two Dixon’s abusive relationships were also read out in court.
He forced one woman to FaceTime him every time she went to the gym so he could check she was not there with another man and refused to let her be friends with men.
He attacked a second woman as they stayed at the Travelodge in Perth until two male guests stepped in to protect her. She was left with a burst lip.
The woman later got back together with Dixon but he would frequently tell her to kill herself or threatened to kill her when she decided to leave with her child.
She told police: “Jay did not take this very well.
“He left the room and returned with a broken piece of wood from the banister. He was swinging it.”
Dixon ran downstairs to the kitchen.
The woman said: “I could hear him raking about the drawers. He then shouted up that he was looking for a knife to kill us.”
The crimes were committed between 2021 and 2023.
Sentence has been deferred for reports and Dixon was remanded.
Wilfully ill-treating and exposing to danger a child, no older than a month, in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering or injury to health by:
- shouting at him;
- handling him roughly and failing to support his head;
- throwing him upwards so he struck his head on the ceiling to his injury;
- lifting him by his ankles and suspending him upside down;
- placing him on a washing basket on a table so he fell on the floor causing injury.
He assaulted the baby and put his life in danger by:
- compressing his chest;
- lifting him by the neck, compressing it, causing his breathing to be restricted;
- shaking him;
- throwing him onto a bed;
- placing his head in water and putting talcum powder on his head and body.
Dixon admitted domestically abusing one woman by:
- shouting and making derogatory remarks;
- controlling her appearance, whereabouts and with whom she had contact;
- phoning and messaging her;
- punching walls and forcing her outside in her underwear and throwing her iPad.
Dixon admitted abusing a second woman by:
- shouting and making derogatory remarks and threatening to harm her;
- controlling her appearance and with whom she had contact and her use of her mobile phone, social media, emails and finances;
- damaging her mobile phones, compelling her to share a phone with him;
- threatening to harm a child and locking doors to prevent her leaving;
- punching and hitting with an axe the interior of a flat;
- brandishing a machete, baseball bat and other weapons;
- depriving her of medication, pushing, punching , biting and spitting on her.
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