Father of infant found dead in Port Townsend park said he ‘did not intentionally do this’

PORT TOWNSEND, Wash. — Port Townsend police said they have found a dead infant in the area of Kah Tai Park after he was kidnapped by his father.

Police said the infant was less than one month old when he was kidnapped by 37-year-old father on Friday afternoon.

“After an extensive manhunt that began yesterday afternoon and continued through the night, officers located and arrested the infant’s father,” said a spokesperson.

Officials said the father was originally wanted for questioning relating to kidnapping, criminal mistreatment, and reckless endangerment. They said the father was unable to provide the “basic necessities of life for the child.”

According to court documents, the child was born on December 25, 2023. The day after it was born, the Department of Children, Youth & Families got a report that the infant’s mother and the infant had tested positive for fentanyl. Also noted, was that the father was caring for the baby most of the time.

Based on the report, a safety plan was developed that said the baby would be discharged to the temporary custody of the father but that the baby could not be alone with the father until he provided a clean urine test.

DCYF did a home visit on January 1 and saw that the dad was not present, however the mother was. He did not reply to DCYF until January 4. DCYF then took him to the doctor, where he provided a clean urine test.

On January 11, the dad was required to take another test but didn’t reply.

On Tuesday, the mother called DCYF saying she and the dad had “big problems.” She said he had taken the baby to hide from CPS.

An officer learned that the father told someone at Kah Tai Park that he was running from the police, and they, “would have to kill me.” He also told the man that he would kill himself before he would be caught.

Officers eventually found the father.

After being arrested, the father first refused to talk with police. However, he eventually led officers inside the park.

According to court documents, the father said he was in the mother’s apartment on Wednesday when he had fallen asleep in the chair in the bedroom with the child lying on his lap

“(The father) stated that he woke up and the baby was face down between him and the chair with blood coming from his face,” said court documents.

The father said that was when the baby died.

He said he contacted the child’s mother and she told him to bring the child to “the trailer.”

The dad said he “freaked out and did not know what to do.”

“(The dad) explained that he took the baby in the car seat and went into the park,” said court documents. “He indicated that we would not be able to find it and that he did not want this for his child. (The dad) was upset and crying at times.”

Detectives then found the child dead in his car seat.

The dad told detectives that he “did not intentionally do this and that he loved the child.”

He also told detectives no one told him to do it and that he didn’t know what to do so he brought the child to the park.

The dad said he had not been using drugs until the child died and then started using drugs.

The dad was booked into jail.

Detectives then found the child “sifting upright in his car seat, tucked into a cove of wild rose bushes and trees,” according to court documents.

“There was dried blood around the child’s nose and mouth,” said court documents.

Detectives believe the child was at a downward angle during the time of death, or for a period after, and not caused by being seated upright in the car seat.

A first appearance hearing was held on Monday for the father in Jefferson County Superior Court.

Probable cause was found for kidnapping in the second degree, unauthorized removal or concealment of a body, and unauthorized disposal of a body.

The father is being held on 200K bail.

His arraignment will be held on February 2 at 9 a.m.

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