A 2-year-old boy was mauled to death by a pair of Rottweilers at an unlicensed day care center in Georgia on Saturday while the owner was taking a nap, said the police, who charged the owner with second-degree murder.
The woman operating the facility, Stacy Wheeler Cobb, 48, left the boy unattended for over two hours when the attack occurred, according to the Valdosta Police Department.
Investigators said they believed that the boy was able to leave Ms. Cobb’s home, where she ran the day care, into the backyard, where he opened a kennel that housed the two Rottweilers that attacked him.
When emergency responders arrived at Ms. Cobb’s home around 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, the boy was dead, the authorities said.
At the time of the attack, the boy was the only child at Ms. Cobb’s home, the authorities said. But on most days, the police said, she was babysitting 10 children at the unlicensed facility.
Animal control officers took custody of the two Rottweilers and a third dog that was not involved in the attack, the police said.
The police did not name the toddler, but his mother, Adrianna Jones, identified him on a GoFundMe fund-raising page as Kaimir Jones, writing that he was her only child and that she was a single mother.
Ms. Jones said that she grew concerned when she did not hear from Ms. Cobb for three hours and that she left work early to check on her son. When she pulled up at the day care center, she said, there was a large police presence.
“This was a heartbreaking, devastating and traumatizing scene that I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” Ms. Jones wrote. “I found my baby like this.”
Ms. Cobb was also charged with second-degree cruelty to children and was taken to Lowndes County Jail, where she was denied bond, according to jail records.
It was not clear if Ms. Cobb had a lawyer.
“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,” Leslie Manahan, the Valdosta police chief, said in a statement.
Neil Vigdor covers breaking news for The Times, with a focus on politics.
The post Dogs Killed 2-Year-Old at Day Care Center While Owner Slept, Police Say appeared first on New York Times.
