Montgomery man sentenced to life for murder of infant son

Montgomery County, Ala. – Caleb Whisnand, Sr., will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole for brutally murdering his newborn son in 2021, and falsely reporting to law enforcement that the child had been kidnapped, District Attorney Azzie Oliver announced today.

Whisnand pled guilty this week to capital murder in the death of 5-week-old Caleb Michael Whisnand, Jr. After entering his plea, he was immediately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole by Judge Monet Gaines.

The evidence showed that on May 10, 2021, Whisnand, Sr. reported to law enforcement that his infant son, Caleb Jr., was missing and had possibly been kidnapped from his vehicle. He stated he had last seen his son when he was at a gas station on Woodley Road, telling officers he went in to pay for gas, and his child was gone when he returned.

In response, multiple law enforcement agencies, led by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, began vigorously searching for the baby. Later that day, investigators found a pacifier, confirmed to have belonged to the child, in a dumpster behind a gas station on Wallace Drive.

Throughout the investigation, agents noted inconsistencies in Whisnand Sr.’s story. They also gathered surveillance videos from multiple locations throughout Montgomery, which further discredited his statement of what happened.

On May 12, 2021, Whisnand, Sr. participated in a press conference and asked for the public’s help in finding his son. Shortly after the press conference, he changed his statement and ultimately led agents with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigations to a wooded area in Lowndes County. There, investigators located the lifeless body of Caleb Whisnand, Jr., buried in a shallow grave. An autopsy revealed his death was caused by severe blunt force trauma to his head. He also had a broken leg as well as bruises on his body.

District Attorney Azzie Oliver said, “A parent’s primary duty is to love and protect their child. The fact that this baby boy was senselessly and brutally murdered by his own father shocks the conscience and is the ultimate betrayal of trust. This poor child only got to live 32 days on earth. He was robbed of the opportunity to grow and experience childhood, and all that life has to offer. I’m thankful his killer will spend every day of the rest of his life behind bars and will never have the opportunity to harm another child.”