Supporters of Leo Escalante attend Brown County court appearances for David and James VanderLeest, Aug. 14, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The cases against two Green Bay men charged in connection with the suspicious death of a toddler are moving forward.
David VanderLeest and his son, James VanderLeest, are both facing charges for the June 22 death of two-year-old Leo Escalante. He’s the son of James VanderLeest’s ex-girlfriend, but is not the boy’s father.
Both men appeared in Brown County court separately Thursday — David in the morning and James in the afternoon. The elder VanderLeest is out on bond, while his son is still in custody at the Brown County Jail.
Through his attorney, David VanderLeest pleaded not guilty to obstructing an officer and aiding a felon following the death of Escalante.
“We’re entering pleas of not guilty on both counts and asking for this matter to be set on the courts calendar,” said John D’Angelo, attorney for David VanderLeest.
A tentative trial date of Oct. 29 was set. A two-day trial is planned.
James VanderLeest, 21, is charged with reckless homicide, resisting an officer and bail jumping. On Thursday, a preliminary hearing in his case was set for August 26.
During James’ court appearance, a group of people from the Menominee Reservation, including distant relatives of Escalante, sat in the front row with signs in support of the victim’s family. They say they plan to be at every hearing to make sure those responsible for Escalante’s death are held accountable.
“We’ve got to have some sort of peace in this world. We’re here to pretty much work at getting that and just supporting the family as best as we can. As honestly as we can and as respectfully as we can,” said Terry Jacobs, Escalante’s relative.
According to the criminal complaint, police responded to a home in the 100 block of Alpine Drive for a report of a child who fell down the steps and was not breathing. The home belongs to David. He was allowing Escalante’s mother and the child to stay at the home, despite there being a no-contact order in place between the woman and James.
David said he was home alone with Escalante when he left him to get a roll of toilet paper. When he returned, he found Escalante at the bottom of the steps, David claimed.
When police first talked to James, he said his father was the one with Escalante at the time of the incident.
But 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 her son “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 911.
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.
Prosecutors confirmed previously they do not believe David was involved in the incident that killed Escalante.
After Escalante’s death, authorities say the VanderLeests fled to a relative’s cabin in Florence County, where a SWAT team helped take them into custody after a standoff.
James admitted he was with the boy and then told police the same story as his father — that Escalante had fallen down the stairs. He repeatedly denied causing child’s injuries. When pressed, James told police they were not going to get a “fake confession,” the complaint states.
David 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 occurred. 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 with a fall down the stairs, a doctor told police.
At previous court hearings, both VanderLeests disputed the account offered by police and prosecutors.
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