Man must serve prison sentence for ‘suspicious’ death of two-year-old

WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) – A father charged in the “suspicious” death of his 2-year-old daughter faces additional prison time after pleading guilty to a lesser charge.

Garrett Lloyd Wayne Jos Gestes, 31, of Vernon, pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless injury to a child on Friday, July 19, 2024, during a scheduled pretrial hearing in 78th District Court presided over by Judge Meredith Kennedy.

Gestes was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but since he has been behind bars for 606 days since November 2022, he was given credit for the time already served.

As part of the agreement reached with Gestes, the two charges pending against him for child neglect or endangerment in connection with the death of his child were dropped.

Gestes was awaiting trial on these charges after Justice Kennedy granted an adjournment, delaying the start of his trial, which was scheduled to begin on July 8, as the court had been informed in advance that his defense attorney’s schedule would conflict with that date.

Gestes was indicted by a grand jury after his 2-year-old daughter was found dead on the kitchen floor, with blood coming from her nose and mouth, according to police.

Officers considered the 2-year-old’s death “suspicious,” according to the affidavit, adding that they were “immediately struck by the smell of spoiled food and general filth” and found the entire house to be full of spoiled food, dirty clothes, empty soda cans and dirty dishes.

During a bail hearing in March 2024, a video showed Gestes leaving his home on the night of December 19, 2020. According to police, he left his 2-year-old daughter and her 3-year-old sister home alone while he drove for DoorDash for over three hours.

According to the affidavit, Gestes was supposed to watch the children while his wife, Autumn Gestes, was at the bar. She is currently facing charges of tampering with evidence in the case.