A 2-year-old boy in south Georgia was attacked by two Rottweiler dogs and died at an unlicensed daycare center while the owner napped, according to police.
Stacy Wheeler Cobb, the 48-year-old owner who held the daycare at her home in Valdosta, 228 miles (367 km) south of Atlanta, has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children, according to jail records.
Cobb left the child unattended for more than two hours on Saturday, according to the Valdosta Police Department. They believe he went into the house’s backyard and opened the kennel with both Rottweilers, which then “mauled my baby to his death,” the mother wrote in a GoFundMe, describing camera footage. When police arrived at around 3:45 p.m., the child was dead.
The 2-year-old was the only child at Cobb’s daycare, though there are typically 10, according to police. Cobb was taken to the Lowndes County Jail. Jail records did not indicate if Cobb had an attorney who could speak on her behalf, and officials could not confirm whether she had one.
A GoFundMe created by the child’s mother, Adrianna Jones, identified the boy as Kaimir Jones. The single mother said knew something was wrong because Cobb usually checks in throughout the day, but she hadn’t responded to Jones for three hours. Her “intuition” said to leave work early, Jones said.
“This was a heartbreaking, devastating and traumatizing scene that I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” Jones wrote.
The rottweilers and a third dog at the house were taken by Lowndes County Animal Control.
The Valdosta Police Department said in an online post that the investigation is ongoing and they expect more charges.
“This is a horrible and tragic event that should have never occurred, but because of negligence on this offender’s behalf, a mother has tragically lost a child,” said Valdosta Police Chief Leslie Manahan.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.