A Virginia father is facing second-degree murder charges after he told police that he strangled his child to death for “not listening” to him and “he couldn’t take it anymore.” Nathaniel Lee Edmonds, 24, was charged in the death of his child, Andrea Cavallier, following a disturbing revelation documented in a criminal complaint filed recently.
Officers from the Front Royal Police Department responded to the family’s home in Front Royal a day earlier after a report of a one-year-old child in cardiac arrest. Despite emergency medical workers rushing the child to Warren Memorial Hospital, the child was pronounced dead, according to a news release.
The father, Nathaniel Edmonds, had reportedly fled the scene before the mother returned home and emergency responders arrived, the police said. In an interview at the hospital, the mother admitted that she was working while Edmonds was supposed to be watching the child, who she found in a distressing condition upon her return.
Edmonds was later found walking along U.S. 522 North at Fairground Road. He was read his Miranda rights and confessed to choking his 1-year-old child with both hands for minutes because the child was not listening, as detailed in the complaint. Edmonds admitted to the incident happening on the child’s bed and observed foam at the child’s mouth.
The tragic incident led to Edmonds being taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder in his child’s death. Notably, court records revealed that Edmonds had previously been charged with misdemeanor domestic assault and battery in July 2023, with the court deferring disposition of the count to the following month.
Edmonds is currently in custody at the Rappahannock-Shenandoah-Warren Regional Jail, with his next court date scheduled for December 19. The harrowing case sheds light on the heartbreaking consequences of domestic violence and the importance of addressing mental health issues within families.