Wellington man sentenced for beating dad to death for getting vaccine

• A Wellington man was sentenced to 38 years in prison for killing his father.
• The man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, a lesser charge than his original first-degree murder indictment.
• Authorities say the attack was prompted by the son's anger over his father receiving a vaccine.

A Wellington man who authorities say killed his father over the use of a vaccine received a sentence of 38 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder on May 14.

Prosecutors had originally charged Brian McGann Jr., 47, with first-degree murder in the Feb. 4, 2024, killing of his father, Brian McGann Sr. The county Medical Examiner's Office said the elder McGann died of blunt force trauma.

Circuit Judge Sarah Willis credited McGann with two years and three months of time served in the Palm Beach County Jail. The courts had scheduled the case to go to trial in June.

Friend said son described forcing ailing father 'under my foot'

At the time of his arrest, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators said Brian McGann Jr. went to his father's suburban Lake Worth Beach home and became violent after learning his father had received a vaccine.

The younger McGann's arrest report did not specify which vaccine caused his anger.

Deputies and paramedics found the elder McGann dead by the time they got to his house on West Palmetto Road. He was 75, according to a family-placed obituary.

A person who knew the family described the younger McGann as a "delusional conspiracy theorist" and told investigators he was angry about his father's use of the vaccine.

A woman who described herself as a family friend called 911 after Brian McGann Jr. made a remark to her over the telephone about his father being "under my foot." The caller described hearing Brian McGann Sr. cry out for help and said the younger McGann appeared to be intoxicated and paranoid.

Deputies found Brian McGann Jr. hiding near his father's home. They took him into custody, and a grand jury later indicted him on a first-degree murder charge.

Julius Whigham II covers northern Palm Beach County and public safety for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.