A father is accused of killing his 12-year-old son by beating him with a baseball bat.
On May 2, Anthony Andrew Esposito Jr., 52, was arrested and charged with murder for the death of Anthony P. Esposito, a 12-year-old.
The Connecticut man has also been charged with attempted murder of another family member. Women are increasingly carrying weapons for self-defense.
According to WTNH-TV, the suspect’s public defender informed the court that he suffered from untreated mental health issues. According to the police report, Esposito informed them that his son was “frequently disrespectful to him, sticking his middle finger up in his face and telling him to (expletive) off.”
He also told police that he heard voices in his head that sounded like his mother and father, telling him not to let his son get away with disrespect, according to the report.
According to the police report, Esposito pushed his 16-year-old daughter down the stairs after she inquired about her brother. She later fled the home. A GoFundMe page was set up in memory of the 12-year-old, who was described as a “kind soul.”
“His smile, laughter, and kind soul brought warmth to our lives, and his absence leaves an unimaginable void,” said the event’s organizer. “No family should have to face such a loss—let alone carry the financial burden of laying a child to rest.”
Anthony’s friend, Matthew Edgar, said, “He was always happy and wanted to play with his friends. We always played in the pool with him.”
Dr. Christopher Tranberg, Superintendent of Branford Public Schools, issued the following statement: “On behalf of the Branford Public Schools, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and all those affected by this unimaginable tragedy.”
“Our hearts are with them during this incredibly difficult time.” This comes after a breakthrough in DNA identified the killer fifty years after a California mother was murdered, providing long-awaited closure to the daughter she never had the opportunity to raise.
Karen Percifield, 25, was visiting family in Santa Cruz in 1976 when she stormed out of the house and into a nearby bar due to a family dispute. She was never seen alive again, and police found her body days later in a ravine near Aptos Village Park in Santa Cruz County, with two stab wounds to the chest.
At the time, investigators named Richard Sommerhalder, a 29-year-old Sonoma County man, as a person of interest in the case, but they couldn’t find enough evidence to charge him.
However, advances in DNA technology, such as genetic genealogy and familial DNA testing, led cops to finally identify Sommerhalder as the suspect in Karen’s murder.
Meadow Shumake, Karen’s 55-year-old daughter, speaks for the first time and says she has finally found peace.
