A FORMER soldier who was jailed for life for murdering his baby son last week saw his conviction overturned by three senior judges in London.

Michael Burridge, 30, of Tavistock, was jailed in March 2008 after Plymouth Crown Court jury found him guilty of murdering eight-week-old Rees.

The baby died in September 2006 after suffering a catalogue of injuries, which prosecutors said had occurred when Burridge violently shook the baby.

But Burridge always denied killing his son and last month took the case to the Court of Appeal in a bid to overturn the conviction and clear his name.

Lord Justice Leveson, Mr Justice Irwin and Mr Justice Holroyde said the conviction would 'not be sustained' — but substituted a manslaughter verdict.

Burridge will now await a fresh sentencing hearing for manslaughter.

But sentencing rules mean that, as he has already served more than two-and-a-half years in jail, he could be released immediately if his new term is five years or less.

Prosecution barrister, William Boyce QC, said: 'The Crown bears in mind that its stance, pre-trial and at trial, was that if the defendant had offered to plead guilty to manslaughter, such a plea would have been acceptable to the Crown. Obviously, no such offer was forthcoming.'

During the appeal, Burridge's barrister, Henry Blaxland QC, introduced fresh evidence from a top histopathologist — an expert in body tissue examination — who suggested that Rees' bones may have been weak.

Professor Archie Malcolm said it was possible that a pivotal rib injury may have been caused by 'zealous' resuscitation techniques, used by the father or medical staff.

But Mr Boyce said Burridge's own account of what happened on the day of Rees' death contradicted that.

He accepted the court's judgment and opted not to apply for a retrial of the murder allegation, but continued: 'It is not overlooked that the jury did convict of murder.

'However, submissions made on the defendant's behalf by his counsel, suggesting that this was manslaughter, rather than murder, were, and remain, powerful.

'The Crown has well in mind that, by the substitution of a conviction for manslaughter, it will be recorded that the appellant unlawfully killed Rees, and he will be sentenced by the Court of Appeal Criminal Division accordingly.'

The judges reserved their reasons for overturning the murder conviction and did not set a date for Burridge's re-sentencing.

In a statement, Rees' mother, Donna, who was only freed to organise his funeral after a special order by Lord Justice Leveson in September, said: 'For me, there will never be enough justice for Rees and this decision isn't one that I agree with, but I have to accept it.

'My son died of horrific injuries and, as his mother, it is very difficult to accept that those injuries weren't caused intentionally.

'I think the only way my son could rest in peace is with an acknowledgement from Michael that he is responsible for killing Rees and for him to show some remorse.

'I would like to thank the police and the other agencies for their tireless work and commitment to this case. I would also like to thank my friends and family for their love and support throughout this extremely difficult time."

Detective Superintendent Kevin Tilke gave a joint statement on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service and Devon and Cornwall Police.

He said: 'It is important to stress that the judgment makes it clear that Michael is responsible for the unlawful killing of Rees and they have accordingly substituted a finding of manslaughter.

'The original conviction for murder has been overturned because of the difficulty of proving the intent of Michael at the time of Rees' death.

'The police, CPS and prosecuting counsel have worked closely together on this case throughout and understand and accept the carefully considered judgment of the court.'