A missing infant was found dead in Alabama, and the boy’s father is in custody.
As AL.com reports, police said Caleb “C.J.” Whisnand Jr.was reported missing on Monday night, and may have been last seen at a Circle K convenience store in Montgomery County. However, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in emergency alert issued Tuesday morning that the five-week-old baby had been missing since Saturday.
Authorities have said very little about the circumstances of the baby’s disappearance and death, but the baby’s grandmother Margaret Hope offered a possible explanation for the discrepancy: Accusing the boy’s father, Caleb Whinsand, of taking the child on Saturday because C.J.’s mother, Angela Nicole Gardner, was planning to leave him.
“I think that’s the reason he took the baby,” Hope told Al.com.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office announced the baby had been found dead on Wednesday night hours after Whinsand and Garner gave a statement at a press conference, pleading for help finding the missing baby. The sheriff’s office said in the same statement Wednesday that Whinsand had been arrested on suspicion of reckless manslaughter in connection to the baby’s death. Gardner has not been charged. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s office is expected to share further details about the investigation and the charges at a news conference Thursday morning at 9:30. a.m. Central Time (10:30 a.m. ET).
Watch the press conference here:
Investigators said only that the baby’s remains had been found in a wooded area, and have not yet specified the location or the circumstances of the discovery.
During Wednesday evening’s press conference, the boy’s parents gave vague statements about the circumstances of the baby’s disappearance.
“I don’t remember a lot, but I did remember I was breaking up, ya know, with the cops,” Whisnand said. “If anybody’s got anything, any places that I could have gone, you know who you are.”
Watch the press conference here:
According to the AL.com report, Whisnand had previously been indicted on charged of drug possession, reckless endangerment and possession of drug paraphernalia in an unrelated case.
This is a developing story. CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.
