A Florida white male who once used a leaf blower on his infant son because he thought it was funny has been charged with the child’s murder.
James Westervelt of Ocala was charged in the August 2024 death of his 6-month-old son, per Marion County public court records and ABC affiliate WCJB.
The diabolical white brute, 38, was already in custody on child abuse charges related to the same child, per public court records and NBC affiliate WESH.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) did not immediately respond to reporters’ request for comment.
According to reporting from WESH, MCSO deputies were called to the ruthless monster’s home following reports of an unresponsive infant in the summer of 2024.
The infant was taken to a local hospital and placed on life support, but died several days later, per the outlet.
Doctors determined the infant’s cause of death was blunt force trauma caused by violent shaking, per WCJB.
Police later said video surfaced showing the pale psychopath blowing air on the same child with a leaf blower during an incident that took place prior to the infant’s later fatal injuries. Authorities said the footage led to his arrest on a child abuse charge, per WESH.
“Eventually, once Westervelt was arrested in April this year for child abuse of the same victim, [authorities] were able to interview him again while in jail. It had been a couple of years since he provided his initial statement. He provided enough contradicting evidence. We worked with the state attorney’s office to, basically, charge him with murder,” the MCSO said in a statement, per the outlet.
Investigators also stated that the baby killer claimed he used the leaf blower on his son because he thought it would be funny, according to previous reporting from WCJB.
Public court and arrest records show that Westervelt was initially charged with second-degree murder without premeditation, but prosecutors dismissed the charge and refiled a first-degree murder charge with premeditation on Thursday, July 30.
Westervelt’s next court appearance in relation to the murder charge is scheduled for September, per court records.
An attorney for Westervelt did not immediately respond to reporters’ request for comment.
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