A Massachusetts man, convicted of involuntary manslaughter, faces sentencing after the 2021 drowning death of his father during what he claimed was an attempt to rid him of a demon. Jack Callahan, now 22, was found guilty yesterday of the lesser charge following an eight-day trial and 25 hours of jury deliberation, said Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz's office in a statement posted to X.
Man Convicted On Involuntary Manslaughter Charge In Killing Of His Father pic.twitter.com/JrzHijFWjY
— DA Tim Cruz (@PlymouthCtyDAO) April 25, 2024
On the fateful night of June 28, 2021, Callahan's mother reached out to the authorities around 2 a.m., reporting that her son was acting erratically and that her ex-husband, Scott Callahan, aged 57, was nowhere to be found at Island Creek Pond. According to NBC Boston, police found Jack Callahan in a state of distress, hyperventilating, as he would soon be involved in a tragic narrative that straddled the borders of sanity and the supernatural.
As the search unfolded, responders discovered Scott Callahan submerged in the pond. Despite efforts to save him, Scott was pronounced dead at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth. Jack Callahan had met his father in Boston that evening, and the two took a ride-share back to Duxbury, prosecutors noted. It was near the pond where the situation escalated to a physical altercation. "He went on to state — in this incident at the pond — that he believed he was baptizing his father. He described that he was holding his father in the pond, on his back, like a baby," prosecutor Shanan Buckingham detailed, reports MassLive.
During interrogation, Jack Callahan told the harrowing tale of attempting to exorcise a demon named "Dirty Dan" from his father, a battle that ended fatally. "I believe he chose hell," Callahan had said, thinking he was giving his father a choice between heaven and hell with each submersion, as reported by NBC Boston. Scott Callahan's cause of death was confirmed as drowning, evidenced by water-filled lungs and an abrasion on his head. Jack Callahan, previously charged with murder, now awaits his sentencing, slated for May 3.
