Wow…
Caleb Michael Whisnand, a father based in Alabama, was arrested for allegedly killing his 5-week-old son earlier this week. But before cops arrested the 32-year-old, he made a truly bizarre missing child press conference in which he asked for information on his own whereabouts. Huh??
The legal trouble began on Monday night when Caleb called the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office to report his baby, Caleb “C.J.” Whisnand Jr., had been missing since Saturday night. Caleb’s wife Angela Nicole Gardner told reporters:
“[Caleb] went to go pay gas at the gas station and realized he was gone. And he let the police know, and me know, that he was missing.”
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By early Tuesday morning, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency had sent out multiple teams to look for the infant. Things took a strange turn in the case on Wednesday though when the distraught parents spoke to news outlets. While Angela struggled to get words out, Caleb took over the conversation, muttering:
“I don’t remember a lot, but I did remember I was breaking up, ya know, with the cops.”
He oddly added:
“If anybody’s got anything, any places that I could have gone, anybody, you know who you are.”
When prompted to elaborate on when he knew his baby was missing, the father couldn’t, noting:
“I don’t remember much…”
That’s when the 28-year-old momma stepped in and shared that her hubby had been at the gas station. Neither had any guesses as to where C.J. could be, remarking:
“If we already knew we would be there.”
The parents also didn’t have a reason why it took so long to call the cops, considering they admitted C.J. first went missing two days prior. That said, Angela claimed she was “at home in bed” with her two-year-old, Otis, at the time. You can watch the full interview (below, the parents begin at 21 minutes):
Sadly, hours later, C.J. was found dead “buried in a remote area,” according to a warrant. Police quickly arrested Caleb for manslaughter on a $100,000 bond. In a press conference on Wednesday, Sheriff’s Captain Leigh Persky declared the charges would be upgraded to manslaughter after an autopsy on the baby showed “evidence to indicate the proper charge will be capital murder.” By Thursday, that charge was confirmed “with no bond.” Take a look:
The father has faced legal troubles in his past, including getting pulled over last June for veering into traffic and narrowly avoiding a collision. He admitted to having been awake for the prior few days and on meth. Via AL, an officer wrote in court documents:
“Subject was showing the signs of still being under the influence of the drug with profuse sweating, twitching and constant movement, and he stated he was dehydrated.”
There was also an unidentified infant in the backseat at that time.
Speaking on Caleb’s most recent arrest, Margaret Hope, C.J.’s grandmother and Angela’s mother, told AL her side of the story on Wednesday. She presumed Caleb “took the baby” because her daughter was about to leave him. Discussing the tragedy of the events, she noted:
“[Angela] didn’t get to have her son on Mother’s Day or Monday.”
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Hope also shared her prediction on why C.J.’s father acted in the way he did, continuing:
“He had to come up with some excuse as he had killed that baby. He took the baby while Ms Gardner was asleep. I can’t believe the SOB killed her baby.”
The grandmother also insisted:
“Angela is a great mother, and she is overprotective of her kids. She was so happy when she gave birth. I was there when she gave birth to the baby.”
Cops are continuing to investigate leads in this case to fully identify what happened. Truly so, so sad. Thinking of those mourning little C.J.’s tragic loss.
[Image via WVTM 13 News/YouTube]
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