Man accused of beating 12-year-old son to death with baseball bat
A Connecticut man is charged with murder with special circumstances after allegedly beating his 12-year-old son to death with a baseball bat, officials said.
Anthony Andrew Esposito Jr., 52, is also charged with criminal attempt to commit murder after allegedly trying to kill his 16-year-old daughter, officials said.
The incident occurred Thursday at a home in Branford. Police in Branford identified the homicide victim as Anthony P. Esposito.
MORE: 10-year-old pinned under car in hit-and-run; 12-year-old, teacher also struck in alleged intentional act: Police
Esposito Jr. was taken into custody Thursday following a traffic stop with the assistance of the Connecticut State Police, Branford police said.
During his arraignment on Friday in New Haven Superior Court, prosecutors said Esposito Jr. allegedly told police he "brutally" beat his son because the 12-year-old was being disrespectful.
He is also accused of pushing his teenage daughter down the stairs and allegedly admitted to police that if he were able to get the baseball bat, he would have killed her, too, prosecutors said.
His defense attorney told the court that Esposito Jr. has had mental health issues since he was a young child, including multiple psychiatric hospitalizations during childhood, and noted that the police report reflected that he was hearing voices.
Esposito Jr. remains held on a $3 million bond, police said. The defense had asked for the bond to be lowered to $1 million, but the judge kept it at $3 million, ABC New Haven affiliate WTNH reported.
The case remains under investigation.
MORE: Man sentenced to 53 years in prison in hate crime murder of 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy
"Branford Police are working closely with the Branford Public School System to ensure that grief counselors and support services are available to students, staff, and families affected by this tragedy," the Branford Police Department said in a press release. "We understand this is an incredibly difficult time for our community, and our hearts are with Anthony's family, friends, classmates, and teachers."
Counseling support will be held on Saturday at a Branford middle school, WTNH reported.
"On behalf of the Branford Public Schools, we extend our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and all those impacted by this unimaginable tragedy," Branford Public Schools Superintendent Christopher Tranberg said in a statement to WTNH. "Our hearts are with them during this incredibly difficult time."
Man accused of beating 12-year-old son to death with baseball bat originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Is Bringing Kilmar Abrego Garcia Back—but It's Not All Good
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man wrongfully deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, is back in the United States to face criminal charges alleging that he transported undocumented immigrants around the country, the attorney general announced Friday. Attorney General Pam Bondi revealed in a press conference that Abrego Garcia had landed back in the U.S., after the government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant for him. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele had initially balked at the idea that he would ever return Abrego Garcia, saying in April that he would not 'smuggle' a 'terrorist' back into the U.S. Bondi alleged that Abrego Garcia had a 'significant role' in a smuggling ring that moved people, as well as firearms and narcotics, and said that the illegal transport of undocumented immigrants was his 'full-time job.' 'This is what American justice looks like,' Bondi said, seemingly referring to due process, which she conveniently ignored for the last three months. Bondi said that if Abrego Garcia is convicted, the government plans to return him to El Salvador after he completes his sentence, once again violating a judge's order preventing his removal. Bondi also mentioned a number of accusations from his alleged co-conspirators that were not included in the indictment. She claimed that co-conspirators had alleged Abrego Garcia had 'abused' women 'under his control,' while another had said he'd solicited nude images from minors, and yet another said he had played a role in a murder. The Trump administration repeatedly insisted that there was no way to return Abrego Garcia, even though he had been deported as the result of an 'administrative error,' according to one ICE official. Instead of facilitating his safe return, as ordered to do by the Supreme Court, administration officials set about smearing him as a dangerous 'convicted' criminal and MS-13 gang member despite their thin evidence. But last month, the government filed a two-count indictment under seal in Tennessee alleging that Abrego Garcia was involved in a yearslong conspiracy to transport undocumented immigrants from Texas. The government has been quietly investigating a 2022 traffic stop, where Abrego Garcia was pulled over by Tennessee Highway Patrol for speeding and discovered to have eight passengers in the car. All of the men were Hispanic, and none possessed identification. Abrego Garcia told the officers they were working construction in Missouri, and he was let off with a warning. The government spoke with a man named Jose Ramon Hernandez-Reyes in Alabama, who is currently serving a 30-month sentence for illegally reentering the country following a felony conviction for illegal transportation of undocumented immigrants. After being granted limited immunity, Hernandez-Reyes said that he'd met Abrego Garcia in Baltimore, and claimed to have hired him multiple times to help move undocumented immigrants across the country, ABC News reported. While Abrego Garcia's return demonstrates yet again that Donald Trump's tough talk is subject to rollbacks, it has no tangible ramifications for the hundreds of other people subject to hasty and inhumane removals by the Trump administration. It may appear to be a positive step toward undocumented immigrants receiving due process, but that will have to be seen in court. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had previously claimed that Abrego Garcia was 'engaged in human trafficking' without offering any evidence to support that assertion. She and other members of the Trump administration have fought hard to oppose the U.S. judicial system, which has overwhelmingly opposed Abrego Garcia's removal. This story has been updated.
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wrongly deported Salvadoran migrant arrested on return to US
The Salvadoran migrant at the heart of a row over President Donald Trump's hardline deportation policies was returned to the United States on Friday and arrested on human smuggling charges, officials said. Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was brought back to the United States from El Salvador and immediately arrested on charges of trafficking undocumented migrants into the country, Attorney General Pam Bondi said. "Abrego Garcia has landed in the United States to face justice," Bondi said at a press conference. The US Supreme Court had ordered the Trump administration to "facilitate" the return of Abrego Garcia after he was mistakenly deported in March to a notorious maximum security prison in El Salvador. But Bondi insisted to reporters that his return to the United States resulted from an arrest warrant presented to the Salvadoran authorities. "We're grateful to (Salvadoran) President (Nayib) Bukele for agreeing to return him to our country to face these very serious charges," she said. In a post on X, Bukele said "we work with the Trump administration, and if they request the return of a gang member to face charges, of course we wouldn't refuse." White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson said Abrego Garcia's return "has nothing to do with his original deportation." "There was no mistake," Jackson said on X. "He's returning because a new investigation has revealed crimes SO HEINOUS, committed in the US, that only the American Justice System could hold him fully accountable." Abrego Garcia, 29, was living in the eastern state of Maryland until he became one of more than 200 people sent to a prison in El Salvador as part of Trump's crackdown on undocumented migrants. Most of the migrants who were summarily deported were alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which the Trump administration has declared a foreign terrorist organization. - 'Administrative error' - Justice Department lawyers later admitted that Abrego Garcia -- who is married to a US citizen -- was wrongly deported due to an "administrative error." Abrego Garcia had been living in the United States under protected legal status since 2019, when a judge ruled he should not be deported because he could be harmed in his home country. Bondi alleged that Abrego Garcia had "played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring" and was a smuggler of "children and women" as well as members of the Salvadoran gang MS-13. "This defendant trafficked firearms and narcotics throughout our country on multiple occasions," she said. Bondi said that Abrego Garcia, who was indicted by a grand jury in Tennessee, would be returned to El Salvador upon completion of any prison sentence. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen visited Abrego Garcia in April at the prison where he was being held in El Salvador and welcomed his return to the United States. "For months the Trump Administration flouted the Supreme Court and our Constitution," the senator from Maryland said in a statement. "Today, they appear to have finally relented to our demands for compliance with court orders and with the due process rights afforded to everyone in the United States," he said. "The Administration will now have to make its case in the court of law, as it should have all along." According to the indictment, Abrego Garcia was involved in smuggling undocumented migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and other countries into the United States between 2016 and earlier this year. cl/sla
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
8 Mass. residents accused of stealing tax refund checks totaling more than $8.8M, US Attorney says
Eight Massachusetts residents have been charged in the theft of U.S. Treasury tax refund checks totaling more than $8.8 million in 2023 and 2024, the U.S. Attorney said Friday. Six of the residents were arrested Friday. Two remain at large, authorities said. Each of the U.S. Treasury checks that were stolen represented a tax refund or tax credit due to a taxpayer, but were altered to be payable to shell companies controlled by the residents, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement. Each resident allegedly deposited one or more fraudulent checks at banks or credit unions in and around metro Boston, Foley said. Foley said the following people are charged in separate indictments: Gurprit Singh, 34, of Framingham, charged with theft of $2,547,508 in government funds; Eric Banks, 70, of Quincy, charged with theft of $1,173,482 in government funds; Jesse El-Ghoul, 31, of Leominster, charged with theft of $1,355,863 in government funds; Domingo Villari, 49, of Framingham, charged with theft of $1,288,575 in government funds; Nnamdi Opara, 30, of Woburn, charged with theft of $700,767 in government funds; Gino Rosario Tyler Alexander Allegra, 31, of Brockton, charged with theft of $861,646 in government funds; Amarpreet Singh, 33, of Framingham, charged with theft of $536,214 in government funds; Lonnie Smith-Matthews, 33, of Hyde Park, charged with theft of $150,000 in government funds and bank fraud of $232,588. Gurprit Singh, Banks, El-Ghoul, Opara, Smith-Matthews and Villari are in federal custody and were scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Friday. Allegra and Amarpreet Singh remain at large, Foley said. 'As alleged, these defendants stole millions in tax refunds owed to hardworking Americans and used Massachusetts businesses and community banks to defraud the U.S. Treasury,' Foley said. 'Would-be thieves should understand that taking government money is not a victimless crime. If you cash or deposit a refund check that you know is not yours, you will be prosecuted,' Foley said. 'This office and its law enforcement partners are committed to rooting out fraud and abuse in the federal tax system.' Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office, said Friday's arrests demonstrate his agency's 'commitment to identifying, investigating, and prosecuting all instances of Treasury check theft.' 'The theft and altering of Treasury checks is a growing issue that impacts all Americans,' Demeo said. 'IRS-CI will continue to work diligently to bring all those who prey on American taxpayers to justice.' For the charge of theft of government funds, each defendant faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. For the charge of bank fraud, Smith-Matthews faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
