Dwayne Lindsey is currently on trial for killing his six month old stepson, Chayse, after mistaking him for a spider.
Lindsey claims that he was taking a nap with the child laying on his stomach. As he woke up, in a semi-sleep state, he thought the feeling of the child was actually a spider and jerked him off his stomach.
Chayse then fell onto the ground, hit his head on a heater and died instantly.
Chayse’s mother, Michelle Dearing, was at a nearby grocery store with a friend, when Lindsey called her to tell her there was an emergency with the baby.
Lindsey is currently on trial because the prosecutor of the case, Nicholas Papas, doesn’t believe his story. He believes that the traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries do not match up with the claims of accidental death.
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Although the trial is still going on, some of Michelle’s friends are taking to stand to vouch for Lindsey. They have spoken to his good parenting skills. One said she had taught Lindsey some techniques to help calm babies down, and added he had a lot of patience for someone who wasn’t his son. They added that the baby, Chayse, would light up when Lindsey would go to play.
Michelle told the court that her and Lindsey were engaged at the time of her child’s death, and he had proposed to her only a few nights before the incident.
But the neighbor’s testimony may not look so good for Lindsey..
Although Michelle’s friends words look good for Lindsey, the neighbors testimony may not.
The neighbor testified via pre-recorded evidence played to the court. He said that on the night of Chayse’s death, he heard people next door arguing and it kept him awake for hours.
At about 8am, Lindsey was heard trying to wake the baby, “He kept saying ‘hey you.'” The neighbor said he heard it about 60 times. He then heard a loud noise, when they suspect he realized the baby was dead.
He went on to say he heard swearing and Lindsey stomping his feet before calling the child’s mother about 8:20 am, telling her “there’s something wrong with the baby, come home.”
The trial is ongoing but there is a lot of speculation about how anyone could mistake a baby for a spider.
Do you think this is believable?