Lewisville dad accused of stabbing toddler to death charged with capital murder
LEWISVILLE, Texas - The Lewisville father accused of killing his toddler son was charged with capital murder on Tuesday.
Blair Ness was released from the hospital, booked and appeared before a judge to hear the charge against him.
Police say he stabbed his 16-month-old son Ashton Ness to death in the complex's courtyard on Sunday. A neighbor saw Ness attacking the toddler and shot Ness in the leg.
The probable cause affidavit states Ness had to be tased because he would not comply with officers' commands even though a neighbor had already shot him.
Once in custody, the affidavit says Ness told officers, “I know everyone’s mad. I’m mad. I killed my son.”
Crime scene investigators will also carry with them the horror of discovering knives and scissors in the courtyard and the trail of blood, described in the probable cause affidavit, that led officers from the courtyard to the family's apartment.
The affidavit states that there was a "large blood stain in the master bedroom as well as a folding knife and blood....an odor of fresh burnt marijuana...several skull fragments were also located near the bedroom." It indicates the attack started inside the apartment.
“There was significant injuries that occurred in the master bedroom. The subject had numerous knives and a pair of scissors out in the courtyard,” said Capt. Michael Lane, Lewisville PD. “While there was blood in the kitchen, that’s indicative of something occurring and he also went to the kitchen to grab knives and scissors and then took all this along with the child’s body out into the courtyard and continued his assault.”
When the child’s mother arrived on the scene, officers asked her if she had any idea why he’d want to hurt their child -- she said no. She said Ness had been reading the Bible a lot lately and they had been attending church services.
Police say multiple neighbors and at least two small children who were in the courtyard witnessed the assault.
A spokesman for the victim’s family said in a statement, “The shock of this vicious actual forever affect anyone that is close to this horror. We thank you for all the support, space and kindness during this time.”
The only criminal history for Ness we found was out of New Mexico, where he was sentenced to probation for kidnapping and assault in 2013.
A family spokesperson said that Ness did not have a history of mental illness and was not a violent person. The man says Ness and the child's mother had been together for two years. He says Ness had recently started going to church, but had taken it a wrong direction by watching Satanic videos on YouTube.
Ness’ bond was set at $1.5 million.
There will be a vigil for baby Ashton Ness Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Wayne Ferguson Plaza in Lewisville.