An Arizona resident, Joseph Gregory Antonsen, 38, has been apprehended and is facing charges of negligent homicide and child abuse. This follows the discovery of his 9-year-old son’s decomposing body on a couch in their Picture Rocks home, which was reportedly filled with garbage, soiled diapers, urine-filled gallon bottles, and venomous spiders, as per court documents. Antonsen was held on a $500,000 bond after the Pima County Sheriff’s Department determined that the boy had been dead for a significant period, and his father had failed to seek the necessary help.
The probable cause affidavit reveals that upon arrival at the scene on Sunday evening, authorities found the house in a deplorable state. The home was infested with insects, littered with empty beer cans, piles of soiled diapers, rotten food, and numerous one-gallon bottles presumably filled with urine. The house was also infested with black widow and brown recluse spiders, with spider webs covering the walls. The residence had no running water or functioning toilets, and the deceased child was found in a sitting position on a couch.
Antonsen reportedly told deputies that his son fell ill on July 12, two days before the discovery of the body. He claimed he intended to seek medical help for the boy but never did, instead leaving the house until July 14. According to the documents, Antonsen noticed his son was “shuttering and going limp” and could not find a pulse or detect any breathing. He admitted that he “should have called somebody,” but did not provide further comments when questioned by detectives.
The deputies concluded that due to the appalling conditions of the home and Antonsen’s failure to provide medical aid or call 911, there was probable cause for charges of Child Abuse and Negligent Homicide. They also considered Antonsen a flight risk as he is “solely dependent” on his parents, who reside in Panama.
While the sheriff’s department has not released the boy’s identity, Pima County records of the recently deceased list a Theodore Antonsen, who was 4’5″ and weighed 41 pounds. A local CBS affiliate, KOLD, interviewed a neighbor who expressed shock at the death of the “really friendly” boy who played with her daughter. She described the boy as “very polite” and “a lot friendlier than his dad.”