Mom now charged in deaths of 2 of her babies
THOMSON, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A 21-year-old mother is behind bars, charged in the deaths of two of her babies.
Dakota Nicole Taylor was arrested Tuesday at an apartment complex in McDuffie County on charges of malice murder, felony murder and cruelty to children in the first degree in connection with the death of Micah Taylor.
Micah was 7 months old when he died in September 2021.
Then on Friday, News 12 learned she’s also been charged in the Jefferson County death of he 8-month-old son, Caleb Taylor, who died in January.
According to the warrants, Taylor allegedly deprived Caleb of oxygen by causing excessive physical and mental pain.
The affidavit says Dakota “unlawfully and with malice aforethought, deliberately cause the death of Caleb.”
In all, Dakota Taylor is charged with two counts each of malice murder, felony murder and cruelty to children in the first degree.
The warrants state the incident happened on Jan. 8 between 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Read the warrants:
The GBI is currently investigating both deaths.
According to a grand jury arrest warrant obtained earlier this week, Taylor “with malice and forethought” caused the death of Micah Taylor by obstructing his airways.
His cause of death had previously been ruled undetermined.
The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office arrested Taylor with help from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The case highlights potential failures by the Georgia Department of Child and Family Services and DeKalb County in their handling of the situation.
Body camera footage from the night DeKalb County police officers arrived at a group home shows the scene after Micah was found unresponsive inside. According to police reports, Dakota was giving Micah a bath upstairs that night. When she finished, she brought him back downstairs into his swing.
Workers noticed Micah was slumped over, pale and unresponsive. The Department of Family and Children Services file states that Dakota’s responses to hearing her son died and processing the grief in the following days was unusual. Officers on the scene made similar observations.
“I don’t know if this has anything to do with anything, but the mother, didn’t ... She was very ... Like alright, whatever. And I was like your baby is ...” an officer said in body camera footage.
Another officer described Dakota’s demeanor as “nonchalant” when they were carrying the baby out.
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Officers questioned Dakota at the home after the incident. The case remained unclear for an extended period, with investigators not beginning serious questioning until two years after Micah’s death.
Dakota Taylor was under DFCS supervision during this time, raising questions about why the agency did not intervene after Micah’s death.
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