Police arrest mother of Florida toddler found deceased in June
MELBOURNE, Fla. - The mother of a Florida toddler reported deceased in June has been arrested in connection to the child's death on what would have been his fourth birthday, authorities said.
Erica Dotson, 27, was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder in the death of her son, Jameson Nance.
In late June, Dotson's boyfriend, 25-year-old Joshua Manns, was arrested in Georgia on an active arrest warrant for child neglect with great bodily harm.
On June 11, Manns was nowhere to be found when the boy's death was reported. He left a note for Dotson explaining that he had a seizure while he was giving the child a bath and woke up to find the boy unresponsive in the tub, according to police.
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However, an autopsy revealed that the child did not drown and there was no presence of water in his lungs.
"Based on the medical examiner's findings, Jameson suffered through and experienced significant pain and abuse over a three-week span, ultimately ending with his death," said West Melbourne Police Sgt. Graig Erenstoft during a news conference on Tuesday.
Authorities said they believe the boy was a victim of ongoing child abuse.
In 2019, Jameson suffered a broken leg after his mother said he fell while running, investigators said. Another broken leg was reported in March of this year, according to police, after it was reported he stepped off a curb. Police said other concerns were raised by daycare workers in a report to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Agents with the U.S. Marshals Service began investigating after a tip came in late June that Manns had fled Florida to Georgia and was with relatives in Tifton, authorities said. He was taken into custody with the help of the Tift County Sheriff's Office, police said.
Manns is now officially charged with first-degree murder and being held without bond.
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But Sgt. Erenstoft described Dotson as the person "who failed Jameson the most."
Investigators said there was evidence to suggest that Dotson was aware of her son's injuries, believed to be the result of abuse.
"It should also be noted that Dotson and Manns definitely discussed different stories about how and when certain injuries occurred, but during interviews, nothing appeared to line up or be consistent."
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