Father charged with murder in death of 9-week-old Chance Walsh in North Port

SARASOTA -- The father of a dead 9-week-old baby was charged with child neglect and first-degree murder Tuesday, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.

Joseph Walsh, 36, now joins Kristen Bury, 32, in being charged with murder in the death of their son, 9-week-old Chance Walsh.

Baby Chance's body was found Oct. 15 clothed only in a diaper in a shallow grave near Elliot Court in North Port.

The two reportedly told deputies in interviews Chance died Sept. 16 in their home in the 200 block of Orduna Drive.

Bury told investigators Walsh hit Chance and she told him he was going to break the baby's neck, according to the arrest report.

Walsh reportedly said he was going to "bash Chance's head into the ground."

Chance eventually died during the beating, and neither Bury nor Walsh made any attempt to contact emergency personnel.

Walsh told investigators Bury told him she didn't want to call 911 because "she did not want to lose both people she loves in the same day."

They took Chance to his crib, where he was left to decompose until Bury told Walsh he had to do something with the body because the smell was overwhelming.

Walsh placed Chance's body in numerous garbage bags and put him in the closet.

The two drove to Elliot Court just before daylight Sept. 24 and dug the hole, drove back to their home to

retrieve Chance and then placed him in the hole and buried him, according to the report.

On Sept. 27, the two left Florida and headed north, deputies said.

They were involved in a car crash in South Carolina and told authorities at the crash scene they were planning to start a new life.

Bury and Walsh have been extradited from South Carolina and are being held in the Sarasota County jail without bond.

This story was originally published October 20, 2015 at 11:53 PM with the headline "Father charged with murder in death of 9-week-old Chance Walsh in North Port ."