Wisconsin Man Kills Girlfriend's 2-Year-Old Son, Then Claims He Fell Down the Stairs Before Asking His Father to Take the Blame

A 21-year-old Wisconsin man and his father are being held in connection with the death of a 2-year-old boy.

On June 22, two-year-old Leo Escalante's mother was running an errand and came home to find her ex-boyfriend, James Vanderleest, performing CPR on the child, as reported by WBAY. Vanderleest claims the boy was hurt when he fell down stairs. Escalante died days later.

"The injuries sustained by this two-year-old were not consistent with a fall down the stairs," Brown County Deputy District Attorney Wendy Lemkuil said during a court hearing on Monday, June 30, according to WGBA. At the hearing, prosecutors said an autopsy shows the child's injuries came from the boy's caretaker, who, at the time, was James.

The outlet also reported that prosecutors allege James' 48-year-old father, David, also helped him evade arrest and took the fall for him. David claimed he was caring for Escalante, not his son, on the evening the toddler was injured, officials said, per WBAY. James allegedly also encouraged the child's mother to lie to officials about who was caring for Leo, the outlet reported.

Fox affiliate WLUK reports James, who is not Escalante's father, is facing other cases, some of which relate to domestic abuse. James and David allegedly fled to a Florence County cabin, where authorities arrested them in late June, per the outlet. James told law enforcement that he was helping his son because he was "very suicidal."

Tucker has since established a GoFundMe to raise money for the toddler's headstone. "Leo did not deserve to be taken from his family at the young age of 2," she wrote on the fundraiser website.

James also had bond set on bail jumping charges Monday at $50,000. He will next appear in court for his bail jumping charges July 9, and David's next court date is July 17.