Man Accused of Killing Son Because of Back Child Support

Danny Platt, a 22-year-old Louisiana man who has been arrested for the alleged murder of his 2 ½ year old son Ja’ Shawn, apparently perpetrated the ill-conceived crime to avoid paying back child support in the amount of $4,000. Warren Riley, police superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, noted that Platt confessed to the murder, told police where to find his child’s body and will be booked on charges of first degree murder. According to Riley, Platt "had said he would kill either his wife or his child before he paid child support."

Riley went on to say of Platt that, "his story never really added up. He was a suspect from the very beginning." Platt, who had visiting rights with Ja’ Shawn, never actually came to visit his son until last Friday, when he picked the boy up before calling his estranged wife and noting that the boy had been kidnapped by three men armed with AK-47 assault weapons. "How does an individual - because he's ordered to pay child support to take care of a kid believe that this is so much pressure that he would face - he would do this hideous act to his own child, or to any child, and think that is a remedy to paying child support?" Riley said. "I mean there are some sick individuals in this society, and this gentleman is clearly one."

The strange case was made even more unusual considering the fact that Platt has no history of violence and only "very minor" previous arrests, according to Riley. Said Platt while speaking with reporters, "I’m sorry about killing my baby. I had a whole bunch of reasons."