Inset: James Dawson (Poinsett County Sheriff's Office). Background: The house where Dawson allegedly left his baby alone in a bathtub in Lepanto, Ark. (Google Maps).
An Arkansas man was arrested after leaving his baby boy alone in a bathtub to drown while he argued with his other children, according to law enforcement in the Natural State.
James Dawson, 31, stands accused of one count each of manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a minor, according to the Poinsett County Sheriff's Office.
The underlying incident occurred in early October 2025, at a residence on Will Henry Drive in Lepanto, a tiny town located roughly 25 miles due west of the Mississippi River and border with Tennessee.
On Oct. 2, 2025, the Lepanto Fire Department and Lepanto Police Department arrived after a 911 call about an unresponsive 11-month-old who had drowned, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by Jonesboro-based ABC, NBC, and The CW affiliate KAIT and online news website NEA Report.
Emergency responders rushed the baby to Le Bonheur Hospital in Jonesboro, which is located some 40 miles northwest of Lepanto. The child succumbed to his injuries the next day, according to the charging document.
Investigators allege the child's mother left home to let her father's dogs out soon after her husband arrived home from work, leaving Dawson to watch their children. Then, the defendant prepared the infant's bath because the baby was being fussy around bedtime — while leaving two older children to play with a tablet, police said.
The defendant then put the baby in the bathtub, according to the charging document. The man said he then went to seat their other children at the kitchen table but got into an argument with them because they did not want to eat dinner, law enforcement alleges.
Amid the argument over what the children's mom had cooked, Dawson grabbed a bowl of food and sat down, saying it "slipped" his mind that the baby was still alone in the bathtub, according to the affidavit. The man said his wife returned "probably a minute later."
Once she got back home, the woman asked why water was running in the bathroom, the defendant allegedly told law enforcement.
"Oh my God, the baby's in there," Dawson exclaimed, according to the affidavit — before running out of the kitchen with his wife.
The mother and father rushed into the bathroom to find their baby facedown in the bathtub and unresponsive, police say. Dawson immediately began performing CPR while his wife called 911.
The defendant allegedly kept repeating "it's all my fault," and that he "forgot," according to the affidavit.
After executing a search warrant at the family's home, the Poinsett County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division noted the defendant's recliner was on the opposite side of the house from the bathroom where the child drowned, according to the affidavit.
Dawson also handed over Ring doorbell camera footage from the night in question which showed he got home from work at 6:46 p.m., then his wife left at 6:52 p.m. and that she returned at 7:22 p.m.
Law enforcement was called to the residence at 7:24 p.m. that night.
The defendant was arrested on Tuesday and briefly detained before being released some 30 minutes later, authorities said.
A court appearance in the case has yet to be scheduled.