Who is Caleb Whisnand Sr? Alabama dad, 32, charged with capital murder after body of baby CJ is found in woods
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, ALABAMA: The father of a five-week-old baby in Alabama, who died under mysterious circumstances, has been charged with capital murder. Caleb Whisnand Sr was initially charged with reckless manslaughter but his charge was upgraded following the autopsy of the child's body. The missing infant's remains were discovered in the woods, two days after his disappearance.
Both the father and mother spoke in a press conference about their missing child, Caleb 'CJ' Whisnand Jr shortly before Whisnand Sr was arrested on a manslaughter charge. The police found a discrepancy in the timeline of his son's disappearance. Though investigators have not revealed the exact reason behind the escalation of the charge, it is believed that evidence discovered in the autopsy indicates Caleb Sr's involvement in the murder.
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Who is Caleb Whisnand Sr?
The 32-year-old father is in a relationship with Angela Gardner and together they had two children. Their youngest child Caleb Whisnand Jr., nicknamed CJ, went missing on Monday, May 10, 2021, as was claimed by the father. However, a missing child alert from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency stated that the child was last spotted on Saturday, May 8, 2021. Later, during their press conference, Whisnand Sr. said that the family was together for the last time on Saturday night. According to court records made public Thursday, the time of the death was between 3:45 pm. and 5:30 pm on Monday, May 10.
According to his initial description, he went to the gas station on Monday night, May 10, with CJ while his girlfriend was at home with their elder son. Around 10:45 pm on Monday, he was at the Circle K gas station on Wetumpka Highway. He claimed to have found him missing when he went to pay at the gas station. Records state the death happened on Hunter Loop Road in Montgomery.
"I don’t remember a lot. But I did remember I was breaking up with the cops. If anybody’s got anything, any place I could have gone," Whisnand Sr said initially, according to Daily Mail.
On Wednesday, May 12, he and his girlfriend joined the police officers in a press conference, where they emotionally pleaded to the public for their son's return. Soon afterward, the baby's remains were discovered in the woods in Lowndes County.
In the past, Whisnand Sr had had run-ins with the law on charges of meth and heroin possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, and reckless endangerment. He was even arrested once before in June 2020 and was under indictment at the time of his recent arrest.
The infant's mother Angela is not facing any charges around her son's death. Her mother and CJ's grandmother, Margaret Hope, revealed that Gardner was about to break up with Whisnand around the time when CJ disappeared. “She didn’t get to have her son on Mother’s Day or Monday,” Hope said speaking to AL.com. “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. I can’t believe the SOB killed her baby.”
Hope said the baby was found dead in a wooded area. “He knew he done killed that baby and he had to come up with some excuse,’' Hope said.