Valdosta, Ga. – VALDOSTA, Ga. (AP) — A 2-year-old boy in south Georgia was attacked by two Rottweiler dogs and died at an unlicensed day care center while the owner took a nap, according to police.
Stacy Wheeler Cobb, the 48-year-old owner who ran a day care at her home in Valdosta, 228 miles (367 kilometers) south of Atlanta, was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree cruelty to children, according to jail records.
According to the Valdosta Police Department, Cobb left the child unattended for more than two hours on Saturday. They believe he entered the home's backyard and opened a kennel with both Rottweilers, who then “pushed my baby to death,” the mother wrote on GoFundMe, describing the camera footage. When police arrived at 3:45 p.m., the child was dead.
The 2-year-old was the only child at Cobb's day care center, although there are usually 10, according to police. Cobb was taken to the Lowndes County Jail. Jail records did not indicate whether Cobb had an attorney who could speak on her behalf, and officials could not confirm whether she had one.
A GoFundMe set up by the child's mother, Adrianna Jones, has identified the boy as Kaymir Jones. The single mother said she knew something was wrong because Cobb usually checks in during the day, but she didn't respond to Jones for three hours. Her “gut feeling” was that she left her job early, Jones said.
“It was a heartbreaking, devastating and traumatic scene that I would not wish on anyone,” Jones wrote.
The Rottweilers and a third dog in the home were taken into 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 terrible and tragic event that should never have happened, but due to negligence on behalf of this criminal, a mother tragically lost her child,” said Valdosta Police Chief Leslie Manahan.
