CENTENNIAL, Colo. – A man who crashed his car with the intention of killing his 2-year-old son in August 2016 pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempted first-degree murder in the case.
Nathan Weitzel, 31, had previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to seven charges he faced, which included child abuse and the attempted first-degree murder after deliberation counts.
He pleaded guilty Wednesday to the single count of attempted murder, a class 2 felony.
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Court documents show that Weitzel was driving around 75 miles per hour when he intentionally crashed into several parked cars in Centennial. He’d belted himself into his seat, but had purposely left his young son unrestrained.
Weitzel admitted to using cocaine beforehand, and said he wanted his son dead because “being a father was a big responsibility and he did not think he was man enough to raise a child,” according to court documents.
Weitzel also allegedly tried to slit his own throat with a shard of glass following the crash, but according to court documents, was stopped by a police officer.
The boy suffered a broken leg, concussion and some deep cuts in the crash, but has since recovered.
The six other charges against Weitzel were dropped in exchange for his guilty plea to the attempted murder count.
Weitzel will be sentenced April 3, and faces between 8 and 24 years in prison, according to state sentencing guidelines for class 2 felonies.
