Father told police he tied, gagged son before child died

The Kansas City Star/September 19, 2003
By Tony Rizzo

Neil Edgar Sr. told detectives that he alone was responsible for tying and gagging his son, Brian, the night before the boy died.

Jurors in Edgar's murder trial in Johnson County District Court today watched the videotaped statement Edgar gave to Kansas City, Kan., police on Dec. 30 after bringing his son to KU Med.

Edgar and family babysitter Chasity Boyd are on trial in the death of 9-year-old Brian Edgar. Edgar's wife, Christy Edgar, pleaded guilty Thursday to the same murder and child-abuse charges her husband and Boyd face.

On the morning he talked to police, Neil Edgar said he had used belts to bind Brian's arms and legs. He said he was trying to prevent the boy from running around the house while other family members slept.

"He was kind of, just getting into things that could be harmful," Edgar explained. He also said he placed a sock in his son's mouth and used a piece of tape to hold it in place "so he wouldn't be hollering so loud."

On the videotape, Edgar appeared to begin sobbing and told detectives: "It was an accident. I was trying to help my child."

Edgar said that in the morning, when he was unable to wake Brian, he panicked. He said he rushed the boy to the hospital, but he admitted that before leaving he told his wife to dispose of the evidence that Brian had been tied up.

Edgar said he did that because he was panicked and scared.

Edgar's attorney, Carl Cornwell, told jurors on Thursday that Edgar's taped statement to police was a lie. Cornwell said that Edgar falsely took the blame to protect his family.

Testimony was to resume this afternoon with jurors hearing from the pathologist who performed an autopsy on Brian.