For many parents, it’s difficult to imagine a world without their child(ren) in it. For one woman back in 2015, though, that is exactly what she had to face when news of her son’s tragic death reached her. In August 2015, Jenean Winston was informed that the body of her 3-year-old son, Dylan Walsh, had been found in Lake Tobesofkee “near a dock behind the Fish and Pig restaurant.” Two years have passed, and now Winston has decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit against her son’s father, Mark Walsh.
For many parents, it’s difficult to imagine a world without their child(ren) in it. For one woman back in 2015, though, that is exactly what she had to face when news of her son’s tragic death reached her. In August 2015, Jenean Winston was informed that the body of her 3-year-old son, Dylan Walsh, had been found in Lake Tobesofkee “near a dock behind the Fish and Pig restaurant.” Two years have passed, and now Winston has decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit against her son’s father, Mark Walsh.
Before her son’s tragic drowning, he spent time at the Fish and Pig restaurant with his father. According to Mr. Walsh, “he and his son were looking at the boats and when he turned his back for a few seconds, his son was missing.” After alerting law enforcement, a search for the boy ensued, ending tragically when “divers found Dylan’s body in the water” the following morning.
Though official police reports revealed that Mr. Walsh had been drinking the night of the accident, District attorney David Cooke said the drinking was “not a factor in the accident” and that charges would not be pressed against him. Additionally, not once during the investigation did Mr. Walsh attempt to flee. Once he discovered his son missing, he stayed on the scene “until his son’s body was found” and cooperated fully with investigators.
However, Winston, along with her lawyer, are wondering if the case could have been handled differently. In a recent statement her lawyer, Andrew Tate said:
“I am not here to pass judgment. That’s for our courts to do, that’s for a jury to do, but they were not given that opportunity. We ask two things. First, we’d like the district attorney to reopen this case, we’re calling on him to reopen this case and indict Mr. Walsh. Second of all, we’ve filed a civil action against Mr. Walsh for the wrongful death and homicide of a child.”
Tate also “questioned if race” played a role in how the case played out. He said, “We have a white father. We have a black mother. We have a bi-racial son who dies. If it was flipped the other way around I wonder what would happen.”
Cooke, on the other hand, “agreed with the findings of the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, which said there was no probable cause that David Walsh committed a crime.” He also disagreed with Tate about race playing a role in the particular case, saying “This is always based on the facts and that doesn’t change the facts. The facts are what they are.”
Sources:
Mother files wrongful death lawsuit in Bibb toddler’s 2015 drowning
MOTHER OF DROWNED TODDLER FILES WRONGFUL DEATH SUIT AGAINST EX-HUSBAND
Join the conversation!