A Florida father is accused of suffocating his 1-year-old son to death so he could continue playing video games, according to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.
Cody Wygant, 24, of Homosassa, was arrested and charged with 3rd degree murder and willful child neglect in the death of his son, Daymeon.
“It is inconceivable that a father could kill his infant son – it just baffles the mind,” Sheriff Jeff Dawsy said. “Our only sense of relief now comes from knowing that we did exactly what we needed to do to bring justice to him swiftly.”
Detectives were dispatched to the Bell Villa Mobile Home Park Thursday morning in response to a child in cardiac arrest. The child was taken to the Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, police said.
In an interview with detectives, Wygant allegedly confessed to police that he put his hand over the child’s mouth and nose for 3-4 minutes to stop him from crying so he continue playing Xbox video games, according to an arrest narrative.
Police said Wygant told them he was frustrated that the child was crying uncontrollably and preventing him from playing his online games.
Afterward, the father said his son was lethargic and seemed exhausted, the arrest narrative states.
Wygant allegedly told police he then put the child in the playpen and covered his entire body with multiple layers of bedding to prevent him from receiving fresh air.
According to the arrest narrative, the father told detectives he did not check on the child for approximately five hours, during which time he played Xbox and watched three episodes of the television show “Fringe.”
Police said when Wygant eventually went to check on the child, he said the boy was blue, not breathing and unresponsive to rescue effort attempts.
The medical examiner said further testing is needed to determine a cause and manner of death, but they said there are serious concerns that the child was suffocated to death, according to the arrest narrative.
Wygant was born and raised in California and moved to Florida in January 2014. Police say he has no job or family in Florida. His only connection to the state is his girlfriend, who is the mother of the deceased child and Wygant’s 3-month-old daughter, who is now in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.
“Our prayers go out to those who knew and loved Daymeon,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
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