Joseph Antonsen (right inset) in a Pima County Jail mug shot, (left) the residence where his 9-year-old son died (KGUN/screengrab)
An Arizona man is under arrest and facing felony negligent homicide and child abuse charges after his 9-year-old son’s decomposing remains were found Sunday on a couch at a Picture Rocks home filled with garbage, “soiled diapers,” “one gallon bottles” of urine, and even brown recluse and black widow spiders, according to court documents.
Jail records reviewed by Law&Crime show that 38-year-old Joseph Gregory Antonsen was booked on a $500,000 bond, this after it was apparent to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department that the young boy “had been deceased” inside the home “for an extended period of time” and that his father never got the victim the help he clearly needed.
According to a probable cause affidavit, when authorities got to the scene Sunday evening, they found a filthy residence replete with “insect activity,” “lots of empty beer cans, large piles of soiled diapers, rotten foods, large amounts of one gallon bottles full of what appear to be urine,” black widow and brown recluse spiders, and spider webs “everywhere throughout all the walls.”
Authorities further said there was “no running water or working toilets” at the residence and that the victim was found dead and decomposing while on a couch “in a sitting position.”
Deputies alleged that Antonsen claimed his son “had become ill” two days earlier, July 12, and claimed that he was going to get him medical help but never did, opting instead to leave the house until July 14.
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“Joseph also stated that he was going to take him to get medically checked and on that day he went to turn on his vehicle and then went back inside the house to a put a shirt on,” documents said. “He noticed that his son was ‘shuttering and going limp,’ he stated that after that he could not find a pulse and stated he was not breathing.”
The defendant admitted that he “should have called somebody,” but didn’t make additional remarks when detectives tried to question him, authorities alleged.
“Based on the deplorable conditions of the home and Joseph failing to provide medical aid or calling 911 for [redacted], probable cause exists […] for Child Abuse and Negligent Homicide,” deputies concluded, regarding the defendant a flight risk since he’s “solely dependent” upon his Panama-based parents.
While the boy has not been identified by the sheriff’s department, Pima County records of the recently deceased show the name Theodore Antonsen, and say that he was 4’5″ and weighed 41 pounds.
Local CBS affiliate KOLD spoke with a neighbor who sounded shaken up that the “really friendly” boy who played with her daughter had died in this way.
“His son was really cute. He was a really friendly kid,” the woman said during an interview. “He was very polite. He was a lot friendlier than his dad.”
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