Kenton Hamilton, Kennesaw, Georgia father charged with the drowning death of his 17 month old son after parent insists boy climbing two floors upstairs, turning on bathtub before eventually drowning.
A Georgia father has claimed after falling asleep with his 17 month old son on the couch, the boy walking up 2 flights of stairs, turning on the faucet to the bathtub only to eventually drown.
Kenton Hamilton, 47, of Kennesaw was taken into custody on August 2nd following the boy’s death and charged with one count each of murder in the second degree, second-degree cruelty to children, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and felony cocaine possession, according to Cobb County Sheriff’s Office records.
The father was arrested the morning after his son died on August 1.
According to a probable cause, on the night of August 1, the Kennesaw Police Department responded to a 911 call about an unresponsive child at a residence on Windsor Court, WXIA reported.
Response crews arrived at the home at 9pm but were unable to revive the boy.
During questioning, the father allegedly told officers of falling asleep on the couch with his son sleeping on his chest, along with the boy’s older 4 year old brother, who remained on the couch.
At some point, the parent claimed having no idea the younger boy having left, only waking up when a friend roused him. After the boy was found, he said, the two adults decided to call 911.
But there was more.
The parent then told police that the 17 month old ‘walked up two flights of stairs, climbed into the bathtub, and turned the water to the tub on and drowned,’ according to an arrest warrant obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A search of the house allegedly uncovered two baggies of cocaine underneath the couch cushions where both children and Hamilton had been sleeping, police said. Several firearms were also reportedly found inside the home. Hamilton, however, is not supposed to be around guns because he is a convicted felon, according to Cobb County court records.
The defendant has a statutory rape conviction from 1995. Cobb County records show a series of additional charges against a man with the same name — the latest being a family violence conviction in 2021 according to lawandcrime.
Hamilton is slated to appear in court for a bond hearing on Aug. 21. He does not yet have a defense attorney, jail records show.
Kennesaw Police said they were still investigating the incident. The department is encouraging anyone who might have information about the case to contact the criminal investigation division at [email protected] or 770-429-4533.
