A Montgomery father will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole after his capital murder conviction in the aftermath of the 2021 death of his newborn son.
Caleb Whisnand Sr. has been sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole by Circuit Judge Monet Gaines, said District Attorney Azzie Oliver. He pleaded guilty in connection with the death of Caleb Whisnand Jr., who was five weeks old, court records show.
Whisnand originally told law enforcement that the infant was kidnapped from his vehicle in a gas station parking lot on Woodley Road.
"A parent’s primary duty is to love and protect their child," Oliver said. "The fact that this baby boy was senselessly and brutally murdered by his own father shocks the conscience and is the ultimate betrayal of trust. This poor child only got to live 32 days on earth. He was robbed of the opportunity to grow and experience childhood, and all that life has to offer.
"I’m thankful his killer will spend every day of the rest of his life behind bars and will never have the opportunity to harm another child,” Oliver said.
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The evidence showed that on May 10, 2021, Whisnand reported to law enforcement that his infant son was missing and had possibly been kidnapped from his vehicle. He stated he had last seen his son when he was at a gas station on Woodley Road, telling officers he went inside to pay for gas, and his child was gone when he returned.
Multiple law enforcement agencies, led by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, began searching for the baby. Later that day, investigators found a pacifier, confirmed to have belonged to the child, in a dumpster behind a gas station on Wallace Drive.
Throughout the investigation, agents noted inconsistencies in Whisnand's account, Oliver said in a release from her office. They also gathered surveillance videos from multiple locations throughout Montgomery, which further discredited his statement about what happened to his son, she said.
On May 12, 2021, Whisnand participated in a news conference and asked for the public’s help in finding his son. Shortly after the news conference, he changed his statement and ultimately led agents with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to a wooded area in Lowndes County. There, investigators located the body of Caleb Whisnand Jr. buried in a shallow grave, Oliver said.
An autopsy revealed his death was caused by severe blunt-force trauma to his head. He also had a broken leg as well as bruises on his body, court records show.
Melissa Brown and Kirsten Fiscus contributed to this report.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at [email protected]. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery father sentenced in beating death of five-week-old son
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