An arrest affidavit in the case against an Alabama father charged in the death of a baby raises questions about the timeline of events leading to the discovery of the five-week-old infant’s body in a remote area this week.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Caleb Michael Whisnand Sr. was arrested on Wednesday and initially charged with reckless manslaughter in the death of his infant son Caleb “C.J.” Whisnand, Jr. The arrest and announcement of the discovery of the body came just hours after Whisnand and the baby’s mother made a public plea at a disjointed press conference during which the parents made vague statements and appeared to be confused about when they had last seen their son.
On Thursday, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office announced in a news conference that prosecutors will bring a capital murder charge against Whisnand, based on findings in the infant’s autopsy, which has not been publicly released.
According to the Montgomery Advertiser, Whisnsand called 911 to report the child missing at about 11 p.m. Monday night––though the child’s mother, Angela Nicole Gardner, indicted at the press conference Wednesday that she had not seen the baby since Saturday night. Police now have surveillance video from the Circle K gas station and convenience store where Whisnand said he last had the baby that appears to show the infant about four minutes before his father called 911.
“The video image is a little grainy, but it looks to be him,” Montgomery County Sheriff Capt. Trent Beasley reportedly told the news outlet.
But an arrest affidavit obtained by the Montgomery Advertiser lists the “time of offense” as between 3:45 and 5:30 p.m. that Monday. The timeline appears to suggest that C.J. had already been harmed when the baby was captured on surveillance video.
According to the report, Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham declined to comment on whether investigators suspect the infant was already dead when his father called 911 to report him missing.
Police said that Whisnand’s body was found in a remote area of Lowndes County, which neighbors Montgomery County.
This is a developing story. CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information.
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