By: Cameron Thompson
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (Scripps News Richmond/Court TV) — The mother of a boy whose body was found in the family’s freezer testified Tuesday in her husband’s murder trial.
Dina Weaver described the day 3-year-old Adon Weaver died. The boy’s father, former University of Richmond basketball star Kassceen “Kass” Weaver, is accused in his death.
The mother was initially charged in connection to the boy’s death, but prosecutors later withdrew the charges and charged Kassceen Weaver with aggravated malicious wounding against her.
He stands trial in that case next month.
These booking photos provided by Chesterfield Police show Dina (L) and Kassceen Weaver. (Chesterfield Police via WTVR)
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article contains graphic details about the death of a child. Reader discretion is advised.
Dina testified she and Kassceen began dating as students at the University of Richmond in 1993 and married in 2015. They had two sons together, including Adon, the younger of the two, who was born in September 2015.
She said while their older son was born at the hospital, they had Adon at their home (because there were no issues with the first). She said he was a seemingly happy and healthy baby, but they soon realized he was not hitting growth milestones and said “he was slow,” including in his movements, picking things up, and speech.
Dina added while she wanted to take him, Adon was never taken to a doctor, because Kassceen did not believe in them. She testified their older child was taken to a doctor prior to Kassceen homeschooling him.
She said Adon cried every day to the point that he would pass out at times, and his issues began to create problems in their marriage.
She said Kassceen was the primary caregiver to the children and he did not trust the kids with anyone else. As such, he dealt with Adon’s neediness and told her “it can be nerve-wracking.” She added he treated Adon with less patience than the older child. Dina said Adon was also always bruised because Kassceen used corporal punishment and would hit his buttocks with his hand or belt.
“He was very rough with him…very, very aggressive,” Dina testified regarding troubles to get Adon undressed, which saw Kassceen having to rip his clothes off at times.
The mother said one of Adon’s crying episodes happened nine days before his death. She said she was downstairs and heard Kassceen yelling upstairs. She said he then called her up and she found Adon passed out. She said she performed chest compressions until he woke up.
Dina said Kassceen went to get a glass of milk and when he was gone, her son looked at her and put his hand to the side of his head. She added Adon acted normal after that.
Testifying to the day Adon died, Dina said she was at work on Oct. 23, 2018, when Kassceen called her and said Adon had passed out again and was not breathing. She told Kassceen to take Adon to the emergency center less than a mile from their family’s home, but said Kassceen told her he performed chest compressions and he woke back up.
Because the family only had one car, Dina said she had to get a ride from her coworker’s mother and took about 40 minutes to get back home, but she was on the phone with Kassceen and he said that Adon was OK and awake.
When she got home, Dina said Adon was on the floor in his diaper, surrounded by vomit, and did not appear to be breathing or alert. She said she did CPR and chest compressions again and thought she heard air come back out.
Dina said she “begged” Kassceen to take Adon to the hospital, but he said “no” because of Adon’s bruising and their other child would be taken away.
The mother said she kept performing chest compressions until Kassceen said Adon was “gone.” She added she “was just screaming and crying” after Adon died, but went along with what Kassceen said.
She said she then bathed Adon’s body, placed him in his crib, said goodbye, then left the room. She said Kassceen then wrapped Adon’s body in clothing (which she did not watch), placed it in a plastic bag, then inside a plastic bin. They kept the bin in the family’s den until it started to smell (with even their older son mentioning the smell) and so, Kassceen bought a freezer for the garage and they moved it there. She said while she did go into the garage, she never looked in the freezer.
Dina said they talked about this being a crime and added they talked in passing about buying a house with land and burying Adon in the back.
She said they never told anyone about what happened to Adon until May 3, 2021, when she told her brother in a phone call when she also told him about marriage issues between her and Kassceen.
Chesterfield Police investigate after a child’s body was found in a freezer in a home on Lookout Point Circle. (WTVR)
On the defense’s cross examination, the mother confirmed never taking Adon to the doctor (in general) was a joint decision and neither child was vaccinated.
She also confirmed Adon was clumsier than his older brother and fell when learning to walk. She added there was a situation when Adon and his older brother were on their bed and fell off. She said she did not know if he hit his head, as the defense said, as neither parent was in the room at the time. She said Adon’s older brother said he fell and that Adon seemed fine.
The defense also asked about a situation where Adon fell and had his tooth jammed back into his jaw. The mother said Kassceen had kicked Adon and caused the fall. The defense then pointed out that in a January 2022 interview with investigators, she mentioned the fall, but never brought up Kassceen’s kick.
As to the spankings, the defense asked the mother if it was “anything big” and she said no and it was done by hand. She was again reminded of the above interview and the defense said she never mentioned anything about Kassceen using a belt and the mother confirmed she told investigators it was “not a big deal.”
Regarding the crying spells, the mother said there were only the two she mentioned and did chest compressions during the first one for maybe a minute.
When asked about bathing Adon after he died, the defense asked if there were any cuts or bruises on him and the mother said there was nothing new.
READ MORE TESTIMONY FROM DAY 2 HERE.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Richmond, an E.W. Scripps Company.
