James VanderLeest appears virtually in Brown County court, June 30, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A 2-year-old boy died after suffering multiple injuries to the head, neck and face – injuries inconsistent with the story of a fall down the stairs, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday.
James VanderLeest, 21, was charged with first-degree reckless homicide for the June 22 death of Leo Escalante on Green Bay’s east side. He also faces an obstruction charge and six bail jumping counts.
In court Wednesday, VanderLeest did not yet have an attorney, so another hearing was set for Aug. 14. The $2 million cash bond was continued.
VanderLeest’s father, David VanderLeest, was also arrested in the case. He is scheduled to return to court Thursday. Formal charges have not been filed against him.
According to the criminal complaint, police responded to the Alpine Drive address for a child who fell down the steps and was not breathing.
David VanderLeest said he was home alone with the child when he left him to get a roll of toilet paper. When he returned, he found the boy at the bottom of the steps.
When police first talked to James VanderLeest, he said his father was the one with Escalante at the time of the incident.
Escalante’s mother told police it was James who called her to say the child wasn’t breathing. She went to the home, where she found him “limp” and unresponsive. She also said James wanted her to say it was David who was with the boy when the injuries happened. The mother called 9-1-1.
An officer asked the mother “if she could recall any other words he was saying and she explained James kept telling her, “I’m sorry” and that it was “an accident,”,” the complaint states.
After Escalante’s death, authorities say the VanderLeests took off to a relative’s cabin in Florence County where a SWAT team helped take them into custody.
James admitted he was with the boy and then told police the same story, that Escalante had fallen down the stairs. He repeatedly denied causing the injuries. When pressed, he told police they were not going to get a “fake confession,” the complaint states.
David VanderLeest told police James told him the same version of events about the stair fall.
Escalante was flown to Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee where he was pronounced dead two days after his injuries happened. According to the autopsy:
There were blunt force injuries to the head-multiple scalp and facial contusions; deep scalp and subgaleal hemorrhages; subdural hematoma; cerebral edema; scattered contusion of the extremities; three contusions of the trunk; two patterned contusions of the upper extremities.
The injuries were not consistent a fall down the stairs, a doctor told police.
Family of Escalante says James VanderLeest is the ex-boyfriend of Escalante’s mother. However, he is not Escalante’s father.
At previous court hearings, both VanderLeests disputed the account offered by police and prosecutors.
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