Stepdad Accused of Repeatedly Throwing Boy, 2, into Pool to Teach Swimming Charged with Murder After Drowning

Mar. 15, 2025

Annastacia Atkins and Dakota Shawn Hays.Photo:Crawford County Detention Center

Crawford County Detention Center

An Arkansas woman and her husband were arrested and charged in connection with the drowning death of her 2-year-old son, who was repeatedly thrown into a pool in an attempt to teach him how to swim, authorities allege.

Atkins was also charged with permitting the abuse of a minor,according to online jail records, while Hays faces a charge of endangering the welfare of a minor.

The child also suffered from “multiple traumatic injuries” to the head, face and torso that were “in various stages of healing, indicative of repeated trauma over time,” an autopsy found, according to the affidavit.

When deputies arrived at the family’s home on June 14, Hays said he had spent the day teaching the boy and two other children, a 6-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy, how to swim, the affidavit says. It is unclear whether they are the children of Atkins or Hays.

After swimming all day, the family took a break for dinner, the affidavit says. After dinner Hays and the 2-year-old went back to the pool to swim while everyone else got ready for bed, the affidavit says.

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About 45 minutes later, Hays came back into the house to tell her “something was wrong” with the 2-year-old, the affidavit says.

According to the affidavit, Atkins the child’s body was freezing after he was taken out of the pool. Atkins allegedly said the boy’s “eyes were stuck” and his arms were sticking straight out in front of him, locked into place.

Atkins said the boy’s heart and breathing had stopped. She said that when she started pushing on his chest, he choked up water, according to the affidavit.

When Hays spoke to deputies, according to the affidavit, he “said 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.”

The couple maintained that the injuries were accidental and that the boy’s symptoms were likely related to the day’s swimming, the affidavit states.

But Atkins allegedly also “voiced concern” to the deputies, claiming Hays had been aggressive with the boy in the past, the affidavit said.

Detectives began investigating and learned about the 2-year-old’s past injuries and that the two other children had allegedly been abused, according to the affidavit.

The 4-year-old said Hays and Atkins would physically punish him, hitting him with a stick on his head, knees and feet, the affidavit alleges.

When detectives interviewed the 6-year-old girl who was there, she said Hays pushed the 2-year-old under that water and that he “did not want to swim but Dakota would throw him into the pool,” the affidavit alleges. She said Hays threw the 2-year-old into the pool repeatedly and that “she would have to go retrieve him from the bottom of the pool.”

Hays is being held in the Crawford County Jail on a $1 million bond. Atkins is being held on a $750,000 bond. It is unclear whether they have retained attorneys who can speak on their behalf.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

source: people.com