Massachusetts teenager charged after killing father by ‘baptizing’ him in pond

A 19-year-old man has been charged with murder for allegedly killing his father by “baptizing” him in a nearby pond in an attempt to exorcise his demons, reports WHDH.

Jack Callahan was arrested Monday morning after his mother, Wendy, informed authorities hours earlier that her son had come home in wet clothes and claimed his father, Scott, was missing. When the police arrived, they noticed that Jack appeared to be “in a mental state and hyperventilating”. Callahan told investigators he didn’t remember anything because he had “passed out”.

An investigation into Scott’s disappearance has revealed that he and Jack were dropped off at Crocker Park on an Uber ride that was scheduled to go from a Boston bar to their home in the town of Duxbury. Jack allegedly borrowed the Uber driver’s phone to call his mother before asking for a detour to the pond. The driver said Scott appeared to be intoxicated at the time.

Police first discovered items belonging to Jack in the park before finding Scott’s body floating in the pond next to two pieces of luggage. Scott was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy report revealed water in his lungs and a scratch on the back of his head.

Jack told hospital investigators he took an Uber to pick up his father, who recently left a treatment center to deal with his drinking problems. Jack claims to have seen a “demon” in his father’s eyes during the altercation at the pond.

“He went on to say – in this incident at the pond – that he believed he was baptizing his father. He described holding his father in the pond, on his back, like a baby, ”said prosecutor Shanan Buckingham. “He was continually dipping the father’s head into the water, about four to eight times… When the father started to fight and hit him, he pushed his head back into the water. He did this until his father was no longer struggling.

According to Buckingham, Jack said he was trying to exorcise his father’s demonic spirits, one of whom he called “Dirty Dan”. Investigators were told by witnesses that Jack may have persistent mental health issues which “recently surfaced.”

A judge granted Buckingham’s request that Jack be held without bail until he appears in court on August 12.