Inset left: Joseph Eslinger (Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office). Inset right: Leo Eslinger (Facebook). Background: Manning Family Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana (Google Maps).
The father of a 5-year-old Louisiana boy who died after suffering severe malnutrition and extensive injuries has been sentenced to decades behind bars.
Joseph Eslinger, 29, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after initially facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of his son, Leonardo “Leo” Eslinger. According to reporting from The Advocate, authorities were called to Eslinger’s home in Albany, Louisiana, on Dec. 28, 2023, after receiving a report that a child was not breathing. Leo was found unresponsive inside the residence and flown to New Orleans Children’s Hospital, now known as Manning Family Children’s Hospital.
Three days later, on New Year’s Eve, Leo died.
An autopsy found that Leo was malnourished when he died. Investigators also documented bruises and lacerations across his body and face, along with multiple brain hemorrhages.
During questioning, Eslinger told detectives that Leo had been ill and had refused to speak or eat in the days before he was found unresponsive. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Advocate, Eslinger claimed the boy was “mentally manifesting these symptoms and he wasn’t really sick.” He said that belief led him not to seek medical care for his son.
ALSO READ: Florida Woman Removed From County Meeting After Islamic Call to Prayer
Authorities said Eslinger was not the only person involved. His girlfriend at the time, 29-year-old Diana Lopez, is also accused of participating in the abuse. Prosecutors allege that Eslinger and Lopez singled Leo out and treated him differently from his two younger siblings. Lopez faces a first-degree murder charge in the case and is scheduled to appear in court in November.
According to Evansville, Indiana-based NBC affiliate WFIE, Eslinger relocated to Louisiana from Indiana in 2023 after Leo’s mother was arrested on burglary and criminal mischief charges. Eslinger and Leo’s mother filed for divorce in March 2023, and he was awarded custody of all three children.
Leo’s great-aunt, Kristi Held, told WFIE that she had also sought custody of the children because Eslinger had previously been accused of hurting Leo. Held said complaints she made to authorities, along with accounts from first responders who treated the boy for injuries, were not substantiated.
“Why didn’t they listen to us? Why didn’t they believe us?” Held told WFIE. “This poor baby, why is he having to suffer because other people didn’t take this seriously?”
Eslinger received a 40-year prison sentence.
