US Man Charged With Murder Of Stepson, 2, After Repeatedly Throwing Him Into Pool To Teach Swimming

A US woman and her husband have been arrested and charged in connection with the drowning death of a 2-year-old who was repeatedly thrown into a pool in an attempt to teach him how to swim. According to People, the boy died in June 2024 from a prolonged lack of oxygen to the brain. Annastacia Atkins, 24, and Dakota Shawn Hays, 29, were arrested on Monday in connection with the child's death. They face charges of first-degree murder, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the outlet. 

Hays, the 2-year-old's stepfather, has also been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, while Atkins faces charges of permitting the abuse of a minor, the outlet reported. 

The boy died on June 17, 2024, three days after the couple called 911 when he became unresponsive after swimming in a pool at his aunt's house. At the time, when deputies arrived at the family home, the little boy's body was freezing, his "eyes were stuck" and his arms were sticking straight, locked into place. 

According to the affidavit, Atkins allegedly said his heart and breathing had stopped, and when she started pushing his chest, he choked up water. Hays, on the other hand, told the cops that he had been teaching the boy how to swim, along with another boy, 4, and a 6-year-old girl. "The three kids would hang onto him on the chest and he would grab their noses and sink to the bottom with them, sit there, and go back up to the surface," he said, as per New York Post. 

Also Read | US Teacher Arrested For Sexually Abusing 13-Year-Old Student And Having His Baby

However, the 4-year-old boy told the officials that the boy had almost drowned as a result of Hays throwing him in the pool. He added that Hays and Atkins would physically punish him by hitting him with a stick on his head, knees and feet. The 6-year-old girl separately told the detectives that Hays pushed his stepson under the water even though he did not want to swim. She said that Hays threw the boy into the pool repeatedly and that she had to often "retrieve him from the bottom."

The 2-year-old's autopsy found that he also suffered "multiple traumatic injuries" to the head, face and torso, which had evidently happened over a long period. Atkins also "voiced concern" to deputies about Hays' alleged aggressive behaviour with her son in the past, per the outlet. 

Hays is currently being held in the Crawford County Jail on a $1 million bond. Atkins, on the other hand, is being held on a $750,000 bond.