La. father accused of decapitating and dismembering 7-yr-old disabled son
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(CBS/AP) THIBODAUX, La. - It is about as gruesome as it gets.
A Louisiana man is accused of decapitating and dismembering his disabled 7-year-old son Sunday afternoon and leaving the boy's head near the street so the child's mother would see it, a killing that brought seasoned police officers to tears, authorities said Monday.
Police say Jeremiah Lee Wright, 30, was arrested on first-degree murder charges Sunday and held in lieu of $5 million bond after he confessed to killing Jori Lirette.
Thibodaux Police Chief Scott Silverii said that Wright's motive was unclear. However, Wright did tell police "that he'd gotten to the point where he was tired of taking care" of the boy, who had cerebral palsy and heart problems, needed a feeding tube and was in a wheelchair."He said when he put his head out by the side of the road it was so the mother would see it when she came by," Silverii said. He said Wright's only explanation for doing so was "just that he wanted her to feel stupid when she saw the head."
The police chief also said Lirette's feet and one hand also were cut off. They were recovered with the body in several white plastic garbage bags.
If convicted, Wright faces mandatory life in prison and is eligible for the death penalty, according to the Daily Comet of Thibodaux.
Wright had been arrested a few times previously, though he was never charged with violent crimes. Wright served 10 days for theft in 2005.
The boy's mother, 27-year-old Jesslyn Lirette told the Daily Comet that she and Wright had been together for 10 years, but that she had planned for some time to leave him.
"I didn't get out fast enough," she said.