Mom sues, claims ex was drunk on night their 3-year-old drowned

The mother of a 3-year-old boy found drowned beneath a dock on Lake Tobesofkee in 2015 has filed a wrongful death against the boy’s father.

Jenean Elizabeth Winston contends her ex-husband, Mark Anthony Walsh, “chose to drown himself in booze when charged with the care and custody” of their son, Dylan, racking up a $125 bar bill, according to the lawsuit filed in Bibb County Superior Court on Tuesday.

Attempts to reach Walsh were unsuccessful Wednesday.

According to the lawsuit:

Winston and Walsh divorced in June 2015 and Walsh had primary custody of Dylan until school began in August.

On the Saturday before school began, on Aug. 1, 2015, Walsh took Dylan along when he and his fiance went to the Fish N’ Pig lakeside restaurant on Moseley Dixon Road.

Surveillance video shows Walsh carrying his son in his arms down to the dock at 10:33 p.m., then 12 minutes later walking toward the parking lot. At 10:46 p.m., Walsh is seen running back from the parking lot area toward the ramp that leads to the docks.

A boat owner told police he let Dylan onto his boat for a few minutes and then his dad picked him up and placed him on the dock.

He said he went into the cabin of his boat, and when he came out Dylan and Walsh were gone. Minutes later, Walsh came running down to the dock saying he couldn’t find his son.

An off-duty Jones County deputy working security at the restaurant said Walsh told him Dylan ran up a ramp toward the dance floor, but later told a different story, that he’d put the boy on the dock, turned around to shake a boat owner’s hand and then discovered Dylan was gone.

The deputy called Jones County dispatchers who called Bibb County.

Divers from the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department found Dylan the following morning, drowned under the dock next to a boat he’d been playing on the night before.

Winston alleges Walsh told multiple different versions of the events leading up to Dylan’s disappearance, and that he traveled to England instead of talking with police after the boy’s body was discovered.

She claims he didn’t attend the funeral.

The district attorney’s office didn’t pursue criminal charges relating to the boy’s death.

“Based on the evidence provided, there was not sufficient evidence to prove a case,” District Attorney David Cooke said Wednesday. “Our hearts go out to the family.”

Winston alleges Walsh was negligent and is seeking damages stemming from what she contends was her son’s preventable death, punitive damages and attorney fees.

This story was originally published August 2, 2017 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Mom sues, claims ex was drunk on night their 3-year-old drowned."