A Connecticut man is accused of fatally beating his 12-year-old son with a baseball bat and attempting to murder his 16-year-old daughter.
According to police in Branford, located just east of New Haven, 52-year-old Anthony Andrew Esposito Jr. was charged with murder with special circumstances and a criminal attempt to commit murder after his son died on Thursday, May 1.
According to a police report obtained by The Hartford Courant and Stamford Advocate, officers responded to a condo on Hemlock Road around 4 p.m. local time after a woman called to report that Esposito had killed someone in his home.
As police approached the scene, they discovered that Esposito had left the condo and was driving his silver Chrysler Pacifica, according to reports.
Investigators who entered the unit discovered Esposito’s 12-year-old son on the basement floor with head trauma, and he was pronounced dead by a paramedic at 4:10 p.m., according to the report.
According to reports, Connecticut State Police troopers stopped Esposito on Route 79 near the town line between Durham and Madison. He was transported to the North Branford Police Department for questioning. According to the police report, Esposito initially requested to speak with a North Haven police officer named “Jimmy,” but only spoke with investigators after being informed that he would not be able to speak with him.
Esposito then told investigators that his son treated him “[disrespectfully]” and used expletives with him, according to media reports. He also told police that he frequently heard voices in his head, including those of his mother and father, who he claimed abused him as a child. On May 1, the voices warned him, “Do not let him get away with [it].”
The 52-year-old claimed he heard voices saying, “Baseball, baseball bat.” He claimed he picked up the bat and began swinging it, hitting his son in the back of the head, according to investigators.
Esposito told investigators that he then needed to pick up his 16-year-old daughter from a bus stop, and the two had a “uneventful ride home,” according to the report. When they arrived home, his daughter inquired about his son, and Esposito informed her that he was in the basement. As they walked to the staircase, he purposefully pushed his daughter, causing her to fall near his son’s body.
According to the police report, Esposito told investigators that if he had gotten the baseball bat, he would have killed his daughter, but she escaped the basement, the Advocate reported. He then got into his car and left.
The Courant reported that police seized body camera footage from Esposito’s traffic stop, which allegedly shows him admitting to the murder.
Esposito was arraigned on Friday, May 2. A judge stated during the hearing that he could face life in prison without the possibility of parole due to the “horrendous nature of the allegations,” according to the Advocate.
Esposito’s murder charge was elevated to “special circumstances” because the victim was under the age of 16, according to reports.
Esposito’s public defender claimed during the hearing that he has had mental health issues for most of his life and has been hospitalized for treatment several times, according to ABC News. The attorney also stated that Esposito has not been on medication and requested that he be placed on suicide watch while in prison.
According to their statement, police were collaborating with the local public school district “to ensure that grief counselors and support resources are available to students and staff who may be affected by this heartbreaking loss.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family, friends and all those impacted in our community,” according to police.
Esposito is being held under a $3,000,000 bond.
If you or someone you know requires mental health assistance, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to reach a certified crisis counselor.
If you suspect child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in over 170 languages.