Anthony Andrew Esposito Jr. pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder in the 2025 attack.
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A Branford man was sentenced Monday to 60 years in prison for killing his 12-year-old son with a baseball bat and attempting to kill his teenage daughter, Connecticut prosecutors said.
Anthony Andrew Esposito Jr., 53, received 40 years for murder and 20 years for attempted murder, to be served one after the other. The sentence closes the main criminal case more than a year after police found Anthony P. Esposito dead in the basement of a Branford condominium. Prosecutors said the daughter survived after escaping the basement area.
The sentence was imposed July 6 in Superior Court in New Haven by Judge Tracy Lee Dayton. Esposito had pleaded guilty April 24 to murder and attempted murder. New Haven Judicial District State’s Attorney John P. Doyle Jr. announced the sentence, saying the case involved the killing of a child and an attack on another child in the same family.
Police said the case began May 1, 2025, when Branford officers received a call from a woman who said she believed Esposito had killed someone inside his residence. While officers were responding, they learned Esposito had already left. Inside the condominium, police found 12-year-old Anthony P. Esposito in the basement with severe injuries. Authorities said he had been struck numerous times with a baseball bat. A paramedic pronounced him dead at the scene.
After the killing, police said, Esposito drove to the town green to pick up his teenage daughter. When they returned home, she asked where her brother was. Police said Esposito told her the boy was downstairs, followed her to the staircase and pushed her down toward the area where her brother’s body was. Investigators said the daughter escaped safely. Police said Esposito later reported that if he had been able to reach the bat, he likely would have killed her as well.
A regionwide alert was issued after Esposito left the condominium. Connecticut State Police troopers from Troop F stopped his vehicle on Route 79 near the Durham and Madison town line. He was taken into custody and turned over to Branford police. Authorities said the Branford Police Department and the Connecticut State Police Central District Major Crime Squad investigated the case.
Prosecutors said Esposito admitted leaving the condominium after the killing while knowing his son was dead. Earlier accounts from authorities said Esposito described hearing voices that he associated with abusive parents and said the voices were connected to the attack. Officials have not said that any finding changed the guilty plea or the sentence imposed Monday.
The case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney Adrienne Russo and Assistant State’s Attorney Cynthia Lill. They were assisted by Inspector Sean M. Faughnan and Victim Advocate Christie Ciancola. At sentencing, Russo described the crime as “unfathomable” and noted the courage shown by the victim’s sister and mother during the case.
Dayton also commended the mother and daughter after they addressed the court. Prosecutors said the judge recognized first responders from the Branford Police Department, Branford Fire Department and Connecticut State Police who were present in the courtroom. Dayton called it “one of the worst cases the Court has seen.”
Several agencies assisted after the killing, including the Branford Fire Department, North Branford Police Department, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the Division of Scientific Services within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. Prosecutors said the Branford Counseling Center and the Office of Victim Services assisted the family.
Doyle thanked the agencies involved and singled out Branford Police Social Worker Danielle Suraci and the prosecutors for supporting the family from the night of the killing through sentencing. Esposito remains sentenced to a total effective term of 60 years in prison.