Child Killed Inside Washing Machine: Dad Charged With Murder

A 4-year-old boy died at home in Garland, Texas, and his father now sits in the Garland Detention center facing charges of capital murder.

Joseph Blocker, 28, called 911 on Tuesday, December 9, and said his son was unconscious. When officers and medics arrived at the home, the boy was already dead. It appeared that the boy had sustained his fatal injuries from being inside Blocker’s front-loading washing machine.

CBS News reports the details surrounding the boy’s death, including the exact cause of death are still under investigation. However, detectives have revealed that a medical examiner found that the child’s injuries are consistent with those being obtained inside a washer. In this type of washing machine, someone has to close the door and deliberately push the start button in order for a cycle to begin. A child inside the washer couldn’t accidentally start the machine on his own.

Garland Police Officer Joe Harn told CBS News that the police are trying to put the pieces together in the moments just before the boy died. Basic questions need answers.

“How did he get there? How did he get the door closed?”

Johnathan Hammel, a friend and former co-worker, seemed shocked by the entire incident as he talked to NBC DFW. Hammel said Blocker seemed like he was a good father.

“He always smiled when he talked about his son. It seem like he really cared about him. It just all seems so strange.”

Neighbors watched as Joseph Blocker was cuffed and taken into police custody. Luz Juarez told CBS Local that Blocker’s hands appeared to be streaked with blood.

Another neighbor, Yesenia Varela, also described what she saw when Blocker was taken into custody.

“He had no expression on his face. I don’t know what to tell you. He had no expression.”

Blocker is the father of a second child, a 22-month-old daughter, who was also in the home at the time of the murder. She was not injured, and is now with her mother. The 4-year-old boy’s mother was out of state when her son was killed, and is devastated. She is back home grieving for her son.

It is a matter of public record that Joseph Blocker has been arrested in the past, per CBS Local. Blocker was arrested for driving while intoxicated as well as for possession of marijuana.

Blocker is currently in jail with a $500,000 bond.

[Photo Credit: CBS Local]