Kassceen Weaver (left) and his estranged wife Dina (right) are both facing charges related to the death of their son (images via Chesterfield Police Department)
A Virginia man accused of murdering his 5-year-old son and then stashing the body in a freezer is out on bond and fighting for custody of his surviving son.
Kassceen Weaver, 49, is set to leave Riverside Regional Jail on a $50,000 secured bond once his Midlothian residence has been outfitted with the necessary GPS equipment. A judge issued the ruling during a 30-minute hearing on Wednesday morning in Chesterfield Circuit Court, adding that Kassceen could not have any contact with his estranged wife Dina or the couple’s surviving son.
Richmond CBS affiliate WTVR reported that the attorney representing Kassceen, Doug Ramseur, argued in court that his client should be allowed home confinement because he had previously adhered to the conditions of his release when first out on bond from May to October. However, the judge revoked that bond after a grand jury indicted Kassceen on charges of felony murder and felony child neglect back in October.
Ramseur also told the judge that his client struggled to “maintain his rental properties” and “participate in a civil case over custody of his [surviving] son” from jail. Prosecutors with the Chesterfield Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office pushed back on the request by sharing photos of the victim’s body, as well as images depicting the bruises and burns sustained by Dina due to her husband’s alleged abuse. The judge noted that while the photos were horrific, the court presumed Kassceen to still be innocent at this juncture in the case, and he did not believe him to be a flight risk, clearing the way for his release.
Weaver received bond after a 30-minute hearing on Wednesday (image via Chesterfield County Circuit Court)
Police arrested Kassceen and Dina after discovering the body of their son, Eliel Adon. According to the criminal complaint, Dina’s brother alerted law enforcement about the boy’s death after speaking to his sister, who told him that Adon had died two years prior. She went on to state that Kascceen had not called police and instead stashed the body in their garage freezer “due to bruising on [the boy’s] body.”
A judge signed off on a search warrant for the Weaver’s property based on the information provided by Dina’s brother to the Chesterfield Police Department, where detectives discovered the boy’s body in the garage freezer. Authorities waited on an autopsy to file any charges related to the young boy’s death. Still, they did arrest Kassceen and Dina at the scene on charges including concealment of a body and not providing medical attention to an injured child. The state placed the couple’s 10-year-old son in foster care at that time, where he remains to this day.
Dina is also facing charges for not alerting authorities about her deceased son (image via Chesterfield County Circuit Court)
The complaint also notes that police noticed bruising on her face when swabbing Dina for DNA. When asked what happened, she stated that she and her husband, a former star basketball player at the University of Richmond, “got into a scuffle.” The complaint goes on to state:
[Redacted] and I did not observe any injuries to Kassceen nor did he complain of any. It is also important to note that Kassceen is 6’3″ and 200lbs while Dina is 5’2″ 120lbs. Based on injuries and statements from [redacted] and Dina, I am requesting a warrant against Kassceen Weaver for [domestic assault].
That warrant did not stop Kassceen from allegedly trying to contact his wife once both were out on bond, according to a complaint filed by Dina on May 10, which stated:
There is a history of physical and mental abuse (undocumented). I am fearful of the safety for myself and brother, as [Kassceen and I] are allegedly not supposed to have contact with each other. He has contacted my brother and asked to speak to me which my brother did not allow to happen.
Since she filed that complaint, there have been no documented issues between Kassceen and his estranged wife. There is also no chance of the two having contact once Kassceen is released because he will be in home confinement, and Dina is not allowed to live in the state of Virginia as a condition of her pretrial release.
Kassceen returned to jail in October after a grand jury voted to indict him on a felony murder charge. Prosecutors presented that case after an autopsy revealed Adon had died of blunt force trauma.
Weaver’s lawyer did not immediately respond to Law&Crime’s request for comment.
Court dockets show that Kassceen will be back in court next week while Dina has a court hearing on May 24.
Kassceen is facing three charges related to the death of his son and one charge related to his alleged abuse of Dina (image via Chesterfield County Circuit Court)
