PALERMO, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The murder trial of an Oswego County man accused of neglecting his son to death is on pause after the defendant, Anthony Waldron, attempted suicide, court documents reveal.
Waldron, age 39, is currently being treated at Oswego Health’s mental health facility, according to the documents.
Concerns over Waldron’s state of mind were triggered by a message he sent to his wife, who’s serving a prison sentence but able to communicate with her husband using a jail tablet.
Lisa Waldron was temporarily being held in a local jail, moved from state prison so she could be called as a witness for Anthony’s trial.
The messages came just hours after Lisa Waldron had testified on Anthony’s behalf, making the argument that she was the sole caregiver and that their son’s death should not be held against him.
At one point during their conversation about her testimony, Anthony Waldron messaged Lisa, “Like I’ve said to you before, as you did, the 20 years we’ve been together as a lie, and because of this, you have taken my life. You’ll have to live with that for the rest of your life because I am taking my life.”
That was the last message from Anthony to Lisa in the thread included in court documents.
The Oswego County Sheriff’s Office, which oversees the jail, flagged the message. State Police were dispatched to Waldron’s home, where he was found unresponsive.
As he began to gain consciousness, he admitted to Troopers that he took Tylenol in an apparent overdose attempt.
The jury was informed that the trial had to be paused when they showed up for court Wednesday morning, Nov. 1. They were not asked to return Thursday, Nov. 2.
Sal Lanza, the defense attorney representing Waldon, was not willing to comment. The prosecution was also not willing to comment.
The trial will not resume on Friday, Nov. 3, but will resume on Monday, Nov. 6, according to the Judge’s Chambers.
