A Florida mother went on trial this week for the death of her toddler son in 2021.
Erica Dotson and her boyfriend, Joshua Manns, are both facing charges related to the death of 3-year-old Jameson Nance, WESH reports. Their trials were separated earlier this year, and a date has not yet been determined for Manns’ trial.
According to CrimeOnline, Dotson called 911 on June 11, 2021, reporting that Manns had informed her at work that the young boy might have drowned. When she arrived home, Manns was missing, and Jameson was found dead on the bathroom floor.
Manns had fled to Georgia, where he was later arrested.
The autopsy determined that the boy did not drown but rather suffered from multiple injuries, both healing and fresh, including a broken rib, brain swelling, and head injuries. Further injuries were a broken tooth forced into his gums, a cut on his jaw, a fractured arm, a ruptured esophagus, and seven stab wounds to his head.
This included a broken tooth embedded in his gums, a jaw cut, fractured rib and arm, a ruptured esophagus, and seven distinct stab wounds — some fresh and others healing — according to Law&Crime.
Dotson’s defense claims she was unaware of Manns’ abuse, but prosecutors discovered multiple messages between them before the child’s death, discussing the injuries and ways to conceal them.
The state Department of Children and Family Services was informed of issues within the home but seemingly did not intervene. An arrest affidavit details that the child broke his leg in an “unwitnessed event” in 2019 and once more in 2021, about which the adults said he had simply fallen off a curb.
The second broken leg reported led DCF to learn of other “suspicious” incidents, including “injuries to his face.”
“The story was that the family had been spending time by the pond and the child fell, rolled into or near the water and was attacked by a duck,” the affidavit says.
The text messages reveal more, many concerning Manns’ complaints that the boy was “not using the toilet,” which would lead to punishment. Dotson, the affidavit said, would text “her support” for Manns’ punishment, even thanking him for “always dealing with him for me.” She frequently referred to the toddler as a “jerk” or a “d***.”
The boy’s biological father, James Nance, was among the first witnesses at Dotson’s trial, WESH reported. He testified that a verbal custody arrangement they had fell apart once Dotson began dating Manns, forcing him to take legal action just to see his son. But no agreement was ever reached before the boy was murdered.
