Atlanta police have apprehended a man believed to be responsible for the murder of a 6-year-old boy.
WSB-TV Channel 2 reports that on March 19, at 11:17 p.m., officers responded to reports of an unresponsive child at an Atlanta Fire Department station on Lee Street SW. First responders then took Tobias Perkins Jr. to an area hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
Police subsequently arrested 24-year-old Dashon Jones and charged him with murder and child cruelty. Family members said Jones is the boyfriend of Tobias’ mother.
Arrest warrants obtained by 11Alive News stated that Jones “hit the child numerous times, causing massive internal bleeding and death.”
Police stated in the warrants that Jones was looking after his girlfriend’s five children for an extended period while she tended to a family issue. Tobias was among the children that the defendant was babysitting.
Tobias’ older sister told investigators that she heard loud noises coming from inside a bedroom where the defendant and victim were. She then saw Jones carrying a “limp Tobias” from the bedroom to a bathroom, and placing him in the bathtub.
The victim’s grandfather found the child in the bathtub and rushed him to the fire station. Police later said that Jones was the only adult in the home when Tobias was injured.
Along with severe liver damage, an autopsy indicated that Tobias had “multiple blunt-force injuries to his head and abdomen” and would have “been down within minutes of the injury.”
“We have so many questions about what happened and how it happened,” Cedric Perkins told WSB-TV. “This tragedy coming upon us so abruptly is devastating. It is devastating, and we need help.”
“There is no taking this back. This hurts. This hurts.”
The family has a vigil planned for March 27. They also need help with funeral expenses and set up a GoFundMe page for assistance.
Jones remains behind bars without bail. Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: GoFundMe/Tobias Perkins]
