Naman Shrestha
In April 2017, Halee Rathgeber was found murdered in a local soccer complex in Indiana, resulting in unrest among the entire community. Meanwhile, the police tried to get to the bottom of the case and successfully identified the perpetrator as Isaiah Hagan. Although NBC’s ‘Dateline: On the Outskirts of Town’ covers this murder case in detail, it also explores a few details about the mysterious demise of 10-month-old Jaxson Wheeler under the care of Thaddious Rice, who was also considered a suspect in the Halee murder case at some point.
Jaxson Wheeler Died in the Hospital Following a Severe and Suspicious Head Injury
Born to Jordan Hughes and Parker Wheeler in the summer of 2016, Jaxson Ryan Wheeler had his entire life ahead of him when he tragically met his demise on April 12, 2017. The child had the blessings of Jordan’s old schoolmate, Halee Rathgeber, who was his godmother. At the time of his death, his mother had parted ways with his baby’s father and began dating Thaddious Robert Rice. On April 10, 2017, while Jordan was busy with some errands, she left her 10-month-old son in the care of his boyfriend. Little did she know that trusting Thaddious with Jaxson was a big mistake.
After a while, Thaddious drove down to the Deaconess Gateway Hospital and admitted the toddler into the ER as he was in critical condition. Before the police arrived at the hospital, Jordan’s boyfriend had already left the premises. It was reported that the baby did not have any pulse when he was admitted, but the doctors were able to revive him and put him on a ventilator. Not long after, the authorities managed to locate Thaddious at a gas station and brought him in for questioning, trying to make sense of the entire situation. During the interrogation, he told the detectives that he planned to sue the Newburgh apartment complex where he and the baby got hurt instead of asking about Jaxson’s condition.
Thaddious Rice Told the Authorities Different Stories About What Led to the Baby’s Demise
As per his claims, he was holding the baby in a car seat when he tripped over a diaper bag and fell down the staircase of the house, hitting his head and waking up to find Jaxson at the bottom of the stairs inside his seat. After trying to shake him to life, he also claimed that he tried to do CPR when he noticed that the baby was not breathing, and then he took him straight to the hospital. When the authorities inspected the staircase, they found no visible damage that would be caused due to the falling of a car seat. On April 12, 2017, a couple of days after Jaxson Wheeler was admitted to the hospital, he passed away from cerebral edema and hemorrhage caused by blunt head trauma.
According to the doctors, the injuries suffered by the baby were not consistent with just a fall, as he also showed signs of abuse prior to the fall. Thus, a homicidal investigation was launched. In the following days, Thaddious Rice changed his story multiple times. In one instance, he claimed that he kept the car seat on the staircase’s railing, and the baby fell off the railing and onto the ground. Digging deeper into the case, the investigators also reached out to a former babysitter of Jaxson. She told the police that she had noticed several bruises on the baby’s body and had taken pictures of them. During her interview, she also claimed that she had noticed changes in the baby’s behavior in the months prior to his death. Not only was he more attached to his mother, but he was also easily startled.
Thaddious Rice is Currently Incarcerated at an Indiana Prison Facility
In September 2017, Thaddious Rice was arrested for the murder and neglect of a dependent in relation to the demise of his girlfriend’s son, Jaxson Wheeler. At the time, he was held in the Warrick County Jail without bond. Earlier that same year, he had been charged with two sex crimes — alleged rape of a woman while she was heavily intoxicated and alleged sexual misconduct with a minor. Since he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, the case went to trial a couple of years later.
The jury deliberated for nine hours and found the Newburgh man guilty of his crimes and convicted him of all the charges against him. Finally, on May 22, 2020, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison for killing the 10-month-old baby in April 2017. As of today, he is serving his sentence at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Haddon Township, Indiana, while awaiting his earliest possible release date scheduled for September 2047.
Read More: Isaiah Hagan: Where is Halee Rathgeber’s KIller Now?
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