A 21-year-old Wisconsin man and his father are being held in connection with the death of a two-year-old boy.
On June 22, two-year-old Leo Escalante’s mother returned home from an errand to find her ex-boyfriend, James Vanderleest, performing CPR on the child, according to ABC affiliate WBAY. Vanderleest claims that the boy was injured when he fell down stairs. Escalante died several days later.
“The injuries sustained by this two-year-old were not consistent with a fall down the stairs,” Brown County Deputy District Attorney Wendy Lemkuil stated at a court hearing on Monday, June 30, according to NBC affiliate WGBA.
According to the outlet, prosecutors allege that James’ father, David, assisted in hiding and harbouring him.
According to Lemkuil, James allegedly encouraged the child’s mother to lie to officials about who cared for Leo.
“Leo was just a happy little snuggly bunny, a lover boy who never stopped smiling. He laughed so hard, like a typical two-year-old, and was into everything. “He made everyone happy,” a relative, Keri Tucker, told WBAY before she addressed the court.
As she became emotional, she told the outlet, “Immediate anger, sorrow, and hurt. Everything was incredibly painful. Laying our baby to rest yesterday was one of the most difficult things we’ve had to deal with in a long time, so I’m just hoping that the court system gets it right.”
According to WBAY, James’ father, David, claimed that on the evening the toddler was injured, he was caring for Escalante rather than his son.
According to Fox affiliate WLUK, James, who is not Escalante’s father, is facing additional charges, including domestic abuse. According to the outlet, James and David allegedly fled to a Florence County cabin, where they were arrested in late June.
“A lot of this is lies,” James told the court, per WGBA.
Tucker has since established a GoFundMe to raise money for the toddler’s headstone.
“Leo did not deserve to be taken from his family at the young age of 2,” she wrote on the fundraiser website.
