Florida dad kills infant son with leafblower — allegedly claiming he thought it would be fun

A Florida dad who allegedly admitted he thought it’d be fun to use a leaf blower on his infant son has been charged with murder.

Read more Socialist Spanish PM blasts Giorgia Meloni over restored border controls after Ceuta surge, demands emergency meeting

James Westervelt, 38, was charged with first-degree murder on Thursday — two years after his six-month-old died in the hospital, WAFF48 reported.

Police said the child was just two months old when Westervelt allegedly blew air recklessly at him with the blower for a laugh.

The baby was placed on life support, but died in August 2024. His cause of death was blunt force trauma caused by bouncing, according to the outlet.

Read more Hochul isn’t restraining Mamdani — she’s enabling and protecting him

Westervelt, who was previously facing child abuse charges stemming from the fatal incident, remains in custody in Marion County and is due back in court in September.

The Bellevue man was previously charged with possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in May, according to court records. His next scheduled court date on these charges is on Aug. 5 for a pretrial conference.

Westervelt’s attorney and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return requests for comment.

Read more ‘Nostradamus of AI’ Leopold Aschenbrenner didn’t have the crystal ball seeing hedge fund portfolio dip 67%