Man charged with murder after 17-month Weyers Cave investigation

WEYERS CAVE, Va. (WHSV) – Damian Nesselrodt was recently charged with murder in the death of a toddler after authorities found a baby with bruises on his torso in 2023.

The Augusta County Sheriff's Office responded to a call on April 8, 2023 regarding an unresponsive baby. There, authorities found a toddler with bruises on his upper body in Nesselrodt's care. After a 17-month investigation, a grand jury indicted Nesselrodt on murder charges.

According to court documents, Nesselrodt told investigators he placed the baby on a bobby pillow, scrolled on Facebook for a few minutes and then got up to use the bathroom. When he left the toilet, he found the baby unresponsive. Nesselrodt was the only caretaker in the home at the time.

According to the documents, he attempted to contact the child's mother – his girlfriend at the time – but she did not respond. He contacted the mother's friend and she was the one who called 911.

After an autopsy was conducted on the child, the baby's death was ruled a homicide and the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the torso.

Nesselrodt is currently incarcerated at Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, on unrelated charges. He has not yet scheduled a court date for this incident.

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