An adorable toddler from Arkansas died after his mother’s evil boyfriend allegedly threw him into a pool repeatedly to teach the child how to swim.
Two-year-old Daxton Ray Bull died on June 17 in Arkansas, just days after he was hurled into the pool by Dakota Shawn Hays, 29, according to court records.
Hays and the child’s mother Annastacia Atkins, 24, were arrested on Monday and charged in connection to his death, which has been ruled a homicide.
Deputies responded to Atkin’s home on June 14 to reports of an unresponsive child after Hays spent the day swimming with Daxton and two other children, according to legal documents.
While EMT’s treated the child, officers interviewed Hays, who told cops that he was teaching Daxton how to swim when he started ‘spitting up water.’
Officers then interviewed the two other children, including a six-year-old girl who said Hays repeatedly tossed Daxton into the swimming pool, even though the little boy protested not to do so.
The girl also said that Hays pushed him under to get items at the bottom, according to an affidavit.
While the child was in the pool, Atkins said she was laying down inside the house. Hays soon ran in and told her what was wrong with Daxton, according to the filing.
By the time she stepped outside, Atkins said her child was shaking and that attempted to help him by giving Daxton chest compressions because she thought his heart stopped.
She told officers that for most of the day, Hays and her son were swimming alone, the filing said.
The other kids at the scene told officers this was not the first time Hays was ‘particularly harsh’ with Daxton, as he would often hit him, leaving him with marks.
One of them detailed that both Hays and the boy’s mother would physically punish him, striking him ‘with a wooden stick on his head, knees, feet, and toes,’ according to the affidavit.
An autopsy released on October 14 revealed the extent of Daxton’s injuries, with the medical examiner concluding that he died from lack of oxygen to his brain.
The affidavit also stated that the examiner found that the child suffered severe injuries consistent with ‘abusive trauma.’
His autopsy further detailed that the toddler showed signs of ‘extensive head and facial contusions,’ scrapes and cuts on his torso and genital area, all in different stages of healing, and ‘blunt force trauma inconsistent with accidental injury.’
Atkins has been charged with permitting abuse of a minor and murder in the first-degree. She is being held on a $750,000 bond.
Hays has been charged with endangering the welfare of a minor in the first-degree and murder in the first-degree. He is being held on a $1million bond.
Just last week, on what would’ve been Daxton’s third birthday, his mother commented on a post her grandmother made.
‘Happy Heavenly Birthday Daxton. Nanna loves you and misses you,’ Daxton’s great-grandmother shared alongside photos of the late toddler.
Atkins responded: ‘I can’t wait to be with him again. Mommy will see you soon. I miss you so much.’
At the time of his tragic death, a GoFundMe page was created to help raise money for Daxton’s funeral, legal fees related to the case and to ‘pursue justice for him.’
Mariah Konkle, a friend of the boy’s biological father, John Bull, wrote: ‘I am devastated to share the heartbreaking story of a 2-year-old who was brutally beaten and tragically killed by his own mother and her boyfriend.
‘This innocent child, name Daxton suffered unimaginable abuse and ultimately lost his life at the hands of those who were supposed to protect him,’ Konkle added.
She said that ‘despite multiple reports of abuse and neglect, the system failed to intervene and protect Daxton from his abusers.’
According to multiple obituaries, a memorial service was held for Daxton on June 27 at the Jubilee Church in Van Buren.
Since his death, Daxton’s father John has repeatedly posted about getting justice for his child.
‘I’m sorry this had to happen to you baby boy daddy misses and loves you so much and I will see that you get Justice I promise son,’ he wrote a day after he died.
In August, John said: ‘I miss you so much son, and I absolutely love you with all my heart. My life just isn’t the same without you.’
This is not Atkin’s first run-in with the law and she was seen in a previous mugshot taken in September 2023 for theft of property less than $1,000 and assisting an outside agency, records show.
In January 2021, she was arrested and charged for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to court records.