Babysitting dad charged with 1st-degree murder in drowning death of infant son (Eden Prairie, Minnesota)

Dad RANDEL RICHARDSON has been charged with 1st-degree murder for deliberately drowning his 6-month-old son in a basement laundry tub. Apparently didn't take long for Daddy to get ticked off or whatever, since he had only been babysitting while Mom went shopping. Now we hear that "depression" is to blame. If this were a mother, this excuse would be ridiculed. But watch people run with it when it's a father. Before long, we'll probably be hearing what a "nice guy" he is, too.

http://kaaltv.com/article/stories/S1682052.shtml?cat=10151

Posted at: 08/04/2010 8:15 AM
Updated at: 08/04/2010 9:19 AM

Father Charged In 6-Month-Old Son's Death

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - An Eden Prairie man is accused of killing his 6-month-old son by holding the struggling baby under cold water in a basement laundry tub at home.

Thirty-six-year-old Randel Richardson was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder.

Officers were sent to Richardson's home last Saturday on a report of a child not breathing. They found the baby, Rowan Richardson, cold to the touch.

Attempts to revive the boy failed, and he was declared dead at Hennepin County Medical Center.

According to the complaint, Randel Richardson told police "I did this on purpose." He told police he was home alone with the baby while his wife was shopping.

Friends and neighbors say Richardson had been suffering from depression. He's being held on $2 million bail.