A 19-year-old man charged in the death of his father who was pulled from a Duxbury pond told police he was “baptizing” his dad a the pond to exorcise his demons, prosecutors said.
Jake Callahan is facing a murder charge in the death of his father, 57-year-old Scott Callahan, who was found dead Monday in Island Creek Pond at Crooker Memorial Park.
During Jack Callahan’s arraignment in Plymouth District Court, prosecutors said the defendant told police he went to Boston to get his father, who was at a bar.
Both sides acknowledged today that Scott Callahan had a long history of substance abuse, and suffered from the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury. Jack Callahan said his mother did not want her intoxicated ex-husband at the family home that night, so an Uber dropped the pair off at Island Creek Pond around midnight, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the defendant told police his father hit him several times at the pond and that is when the younger Callahan decided to “baptize” his father.
“(Jack Callahan) believed he was baptizing his father. He described holding him on his back like a baby, that he continually dunked the father’s head in the water four to eight times,” Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham said. “He did so until his father was no longer struggling and floating.”
Scott Callahan was found in the water a short time later, about 50 feet away from the shore of the pond. He was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-Plymouth, where he was pronounced dead.
In court, the defense attorney said Jack Callahan had recently returned from Colorado to live with his mother for medical care.
Jack Callahan’s defense attorney requested a psychological valuation at Bridgewater State Hospital, but the judge denied the request.
“He was banging his head on the floor and the police had to put their boot under his head to kind of soften the blow. I did talk with him myself. I do believe he poses a risk of danger to himself,” said attorney Kevin Reddington.
Jack Callahan was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing.
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