An evil dad with a history of domestic violence has been accused of murdering his baby boy by partially burying him alive — months after the boy’s mom had tried to get a restraining order.
John Hannon, 43, was charged with first‑degree felony child abuse resulting in death after it emerged his 11-month-old son, John “Teigue “JJ” Hannon, was still breathing when his badly battered face was buried in the dirt in a ditch, according to an affidavit obtained by the Durango Herald.
The dad was free despite a troubling history of violence against his family, and an arrest just a week earlier for allegedly driving on drugs and then trying to plant meth on a driver he T-boned.
“This is another example of New Mexico’s failed criminal justice system,” San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari told the Tri‑City Record.
“There is no greater evil than individuals who hurt and kill children. You have my word we will do everything in our power to bring justice to this precious child.”
Hannon allegedly took baby JJ for a walk around Flora Vista, New Mexico, in his stroller last month — then told his ex, Krystal Phillips, he wasn’t dropping their baby back home because he had somehow left him with a grandparent hundreds of miles away in Colorado, according to the affidavit.
Phillips called cops, saying she feared something “bad had happened to her son” while with her troubled, violent ex, whom she’d previously tried to ban from being with either her or her kids.
The baby’s body was found two days later in a ditch — with his head and left arm buried in the dirt.
A post-mortem later showed that JJ had a fractured skull and other head injuries — but that dirt in his airways showed the tot was alive when he was partially buried, according to the report.
When he was arrested in his RV, Hannon initially told cops he “would never hurt JJ” — before conceding he was actually “hurt bad,” KOB reported.
When he was shown photos of the tragic tot’s injuries, he was asked if he’;d hit the baby, to which he allegedly replied, “No, not technically.”
He then admitted burying the baby — but saying he assumed he was already dead, the affidavit said.
In other interviews, the dad said that “at one point in time I did love my kids,” but that he had “changed” — and made a “mistake” with JJ.
Hannon has a long list of domestic violence arrests and convictions dating back to 2022, including punching Phillips’ 15-year-old son in the eye and allegedly slamming Phillips’ head into a crib.
Phillips filed a restraining order to keep him from her or the kids, but it was overturned when she failed to appear in court.
His defense team claims he is not competent to stand trial, the Tri-City Record reported.
“he does not understand the nature of his charges and has apparent memory issues,” one of his attorneys, Nicole Hall, wrote in a recent filing.
The accused killer has been remanded in custody while evaluations continue.
