Man Allegedly Stabbed, Beat Toddler Son To Death While Yelling 'Jesus Is Coming'

A Texas man who yelled “Jesus is coming!” as he allegedly stabbed his 16-month-old son to death has been charged with capital murder.

Blair Ness, 27, is accused of killing his toddler son, Ashton Ness, in a Dallas suburb Sunday, after witnesses said they saw him stab the boy repeatedly and slam him to the ground, according to the Dallas Morning News.

A neighbor stopped the attack by shooting Ness, but not in time to save the boy.

Witnesses began calling 911 around 12:40 p.m., reporting that a man was stabbing or beating a child in a courtyard of the apartment complex where Ness lived with the child and the boy’s mother, Alexandra Murphy, police said. Murphy was at work at the time of the attack, police said.

“They slammed the little kid on the ground. They’re stabbing their baby,” one person reported, according to the Dallas Morning News. “They’re stabbing the baby right now in the middle of the complex, right now.”

Another reported, “There’s blood everywhere.”

“Shots just went off,” another caller reported.

One neighbor did more than just call 911. He grabbed a gun and fired three shots at Ness, hitting him once in the leg, "effectively ending the assault on the child," Lewisville Police spokesperson Capt. Jesse Hunter said.

Murphy, the boy’s mother, told police she left for work Sunday morning before the attack, and that when she left, Ness was feeding Ashton. She could not think of a reason why Ness would want to harm their son, she told police. But Murphy also told police that Ness had been reading the bible alot lately, and one witness to the attack told police Ness yelled “Jesus is coming!” during the assault.

Ness’s family issued a statement after the killing asking to be left alone to mourn Ashton. The statement also said that Ness “left this earth sometime on the last few weeks as he opened a door to allow demons to enter into his body.”

Ness stabbed Ashton "all over" the boy's head and body, according to the affidavit in support of Ness’s arrest.

Inside Ness’s apartment, where police believe the attack began, police found blood, a blood-stained knife and skull fragments, the affidavit states. From there, a trail of blood led outside into a courtyard, where police found a pool of blood and bloody kitchen knives.

Hunter, the police spokesperson, said the killing was “probably the worst in my 20 years … doing this.”

Eduardo Carranza, another neighbor, said he ran out of his apartment when he heard gunshots. Ness, he said, “was talking nonsense.” Carranza then began recording video, which captured police dragging Ness away as the 27-year-old yelled for his mother.

“I just to see my mom,” the recording captures Ness yelling.

Police said there had not been any trouble previously reported at the apartment Ness shared with Murphy, and no reports made to child protective services about the family.

Ness’s bail was set at $1.5 million.

[Photo: Lewisville Jail]