A man has been charged with murder after he allegedly beat his girlfriend’s 6-year-old child to death at a home in southwest Atlanta last week, according to arrest warrants obtained Monday.
Dashon Jones, 24, is accused of “knowing and intentionally” striking 6-year-old Tobias Perkins several times at around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at a house on Sparks Street, the warrants stated.
That night, officers were called to nearby Lee Street after the child’s grandfather found Perkins unresponsive and took him to Fire Station 14, located about a half-mile away, police said. Police originally said he was taken to the fire station about 24 hours later on Wednesday night. Medical crews then took Perkins to Children’s Hughes Spalding Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said Jones had been babysitting his girlfriend’s five children while she handled a family matter. At some point, the boy’s older sister said she heard a loud banging in the room where Perkins and Jones were.
Soon after, she saw Jones carry the child’s limp body to the bathroom and place him in the tub, the warrants stated. Police said there were no other adults with the children at the time.
Jones was identified as a suspect during the investigation and arrest warrants were obtained for charges of murder and first-degree cruelty to children.
Police said the warrants were directed to the Fulton County jail, where Jones was being held on unrelated charges. He had an open case in Fulton related to drug charges, according to online records. He is being held without bond.
An autopsy showed that Perkins suffered multiple blunt force injuries to his head and abdomen, the warrants stated. He also sustained a lacerated liver, causing internal bleeding, police said.
“The medical examiner stated the child would have been down within minutes of the injury,” according to the warrant.
A GoFundMe page was organized by the child’s family to help with burial and other expenses. It had raised nearly $2,000 as of Monday morning.
“There is no taking this back. This hurts. This hurts,” the child’s cousin, Cedric Perkins, told Channel 2 Action News.
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