Mum 'robbed of justice' after 'beautiful' 12-week-old son killed by his own dad

A mum said she has been "robbed of justice" after her "beautiful" 12-week-old son was killedby his own dad.

Distraught mum Rachel Surtees, 33, shared her heartbreak after her baby Hudson Bibby was killed by his own dad Carl at his home before he died by suicide. Rachel had been dropped off just 14 hours earlier into his second stay with his dad in two weeks.

But as nurse Rachel was preparing to collect Hudson, police arrived at her door and shared the devastating news. "My heart is forever broken," said Rachel, from Newcastle. She then had to identify her son in the morgue. It comes afterboy, 5, is murdered by kidnappers because his mum couldn't pay £39 ransom.

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"A piece will always be missing," Rachel added. "The physical pain my heart feels is indescribable. I suffer from PTSD, I have nightmares nearly every night, I have health anxiety, anxiety something's going to happen to my children, and I have visions of horrible things happening."

An inquest later found Hudson died from blunt head trauma and was unlawfully killed at the hands of his own dad. Rachel said police have told her: "If Carl did not end his life, he would have been charged with Hudson's murder."

She continued: "He's robbed me of so much and my son deserves as much justice as he can get. Hudson knew nothing but love from me and my family and friends. We loved Hudson. He looked at me with the look of love and I'll never ever forget his beautiful little face. His story deserves to be told.

"I won't protect a man who chose not to protect his own child. He murdered my beautiful little boy. He's robbed Hudson of his life, me of my son, and my children seeing him grow up. And I hope he rots in hell."

Rachel said grief has "completely changed me." She has since given birth to daughter Georgie, now one, but has said watching her grow is "bittersweet" as she has struggled to hit her milestones Hudson never got the chance to experience.

She continued: "I haven't got any closure. I'm definitely not the person I was before he died. The first three months was the hardest with Georgie, he never got round to being three months.

"Trusting people with Georgie was so hard. Leaving overnight, it's horrific. You lose trust in the world, really, just in life. I used to be a glass half full, an optimistic person with life - now I'm glass half empty. I'm always looking at what's going to go wrong next. We won't ever know what went on due to Carl committing suicide."

"However what I can say, the words from Northumbria Police were; if Carl did not not end his life, he would have been charged with Hudson’s murder. The murder of his own son, his own flesh and blood.

"Hudson was a person, he is my child, my beautiful little boy and I won't ever stay silent or protect a man who murdered my son. He didn't only kill Hudson, he killed a part of me."

Rachel met scaffolder Carl on a dating site in April 2022 and "just hit it off." She, who had sons, 15 and six, initially said she "didn't want any more kids," and was surprised when she learned she was pregnant just eight weeks later.

They broke up four weeks after Rachel found out she was pregnant and their contact was intermittent. "Throughout the pregnancy I was blocked on everything and couldn’t get in contact," said Rachel.

She gave birth to Hudson at 37 weeks on February 4, 2023. They registered the birth together at two and a half weeks.

Carl had Hudson alone for the first time for a few hours after they registered the birth but during the second visit Carl stopped communicating which caused Rachel to become concerned. She did not imagine he would hurt their son and tragedy struck during his fifth overnight with Hudson on April 28.

The following day police delivered the devastating news. In August 2024, forensic reports determined Hudson suffered severe shaken baby syndrome causing retinal bleeding, spinal cord and brain bleeds, and was then thrown onto a surface, killing him instantly.

In November last year, Goergina Noland, H.M. Senior Coroner for Newcastle and North Tyneside Coroners concluded Hudson's medical cause of death was blunt head trauma and he was unlawfully killed at the hands of Carl Bibby, ChronicleLivereported.

"You don't ever foresee yourself identifying your dead child’s body," said Rachel, "When Georgie, my one-year-old little girl, was newborn, I didn't want to buy things for after three months because I was so scared she wouldn't last that long.

"I've had anxiety and PTSD. Soon after he died I could have gone down the self destructive route but I didn't - I didn't drink and I started doing cold water therapy. I've seen a grief counsellor. I'm in therapy.

"90 per cent of the online response on my Instagram and TikTok pages, where I post about Hudson and my experience with grief, is positive and I have thick skin. But I get a lot of, 'why would you leave your baby', 'what kind of mother leaves their newborn child with their father' - and I’m like, 'a good one'.

"We're both parents. We're both on the birth certificate. I still feel guilty because I took him to Carl's, but I'm not to blame. I get people approaching us who have lost children in similar ways. I tell people, 'don’t go down the self destructive route, don't cut yourself off from people, talk about it'.

"I know I'm not going to get over Hudson. I'll be forever grieving him. So now I have to live with the grief."