One Father Poisons His Children; Another Dad Stuns Guns His Baby

The parade of frighteningly unfit parents continued this week with dueling stories about fathers gone wild. In Albany, Oregon, 23-year-old Rian James Whittman is accused of assault and criminal mistreatment of his son, who is only 18 months old. Police said that Whittman’s wife took her son to the Albany Police Department to report that her husband was abusing him.

The mother told police that her husband had been using a 100,000-volt stun gun on his son, causing injuries to his skin. According to the toddler’s mother, the abuse had been going on for about three weeks and Whittman had stunned the baby at least 10 times. The child was taken to Samaritan Albany General Hospital, where he was examined by doctors and treated for his injuries, which were not said to be life-threatening or serious. Upon his release from the hospital, the child was taken into protective custody by the state Department of Human Services.

Capt. Eric Carter said that investigators have not been able to determine a motive for the abuse, and they do not know why it began when it did. The weapon used is not a Taser weapon, but an older model that is applied directly to the skin. Police are asking that anyone with information regarding the investigation call the Albany Police Department at 541-917-7680.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country in Atlanta, a man admitted Tuesday that he had tampered with his children’s soup by putting in poisonous substances in an attempt to get money from the Campbell Soup Company. William Allen Cunningham, 41, pleaded guilty to communicating false claims. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Cunningham faces up to five years in federal prison when he is sentenced in April.

According to investigators, Cunningham’s 3-year-old son and 18-month-old daughter were hospitalized twice in January 2006. The first time, their father had laced their soup with hot peppers and lighter fluid and forced them to eat it. The second time, he used prescription drugs for depression—Amitriptyline and Prozac—and put them into the soup to poison the children.

"He admitted that he put potentially life-threatening foreign substances into soup, which he fed to his young children," said U.S. Attorney David Nahmias. "He then placed a call to Campbell Soup Company falsely claiming that the soup had been contaminated." According to prosecutors, Cunningham threatened to sue the company because his soup had been poisoned. Authorities say there was no evidence that the soup was tainted when it was bought.