2-year-old drowned learning to swim, Arkansas cops say. Now, two charged with murder

A 2-year-old who died in June was ruled to have drowned, according to Arkansas authorities, who also say the boy had injuries indicative of abuse.

The child’s mother and stepfather have now been arrested more than six months after the boy’s death, news outlets report.

The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office said Dakota Shawn Hays was trying to help the boy learn how to swim as they and Annastacia Grace Atkins were in a pool with two other children, according to KNWA. One of the other kids told deputies Hays was “throwing” the boy into the water, 5News reported, citing court documents. The toddler was also observed being pushed under water to retrieve items at the bottom of the pool.

Hays and the 2-year-old were later in the pool alone, and he went to Atkins and said “something was wrong,” according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. She began to see the child “shaking as though he was having a seizure.”

The child, whose identity has not been publicly disclosed, died after being taken to a hospital, KNWA reported. A CT scan of the child’s lungs revealed his death was “consistent with drowning,” with an autopsy revealing he died from a “prolonged lack of oxygen to the brain,” authorities said.

But according to the court documents, also obtained by KHBS, the boy had noticeable cuts and scrapes to his head and body. A 4-year-old in the home said Hays and Atkins often hit the toddler with a wooden stick.

Hays denied harming the child, telling investigators the boy fell off a countertop the night before he died, KHBS reported.

“Dakota advised he thought it was a freak accident and that he was scared because he had not been in trouble his whole life,” the Democrat-Gazette reported, citing the affidavit. “Dakota advised in the interview he would never hurt a child after being asked about the bruising.”

However, authorities called the boy’s injuries consistent with “abusive trauma,” according to 5News.

Hays and Atkins were both jailed Jan. 13 on first-degree murder charges, records show.

Hays, 29, faces an additional charge of first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and was jailed on a $1 million bond, jail records show.

Atkins, 24, was also charged with permitting abuse of a minor, according to the records. She remains in jail as of Jan. 15 on a $750,000 bond.

Crawford County is about a 160-mile drive northwest from Little Rock.

This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 9:58 AM with the headline "2-year-old drowned learning to swim, Arkansas cops say. Now, two charged with murder."