Police charge stepdad in boy’s drowning in bathtub

Clayton County police are investigating a drowning. (Credit: Channel 2 Action News)

Clayton County police are investigating a drowning. (Credit: Channel 2 Action News)

A man was arrested Tuesday in connection with his 11-year-old disabled stepson’s drowning in a bathtub at a house on Mill Lake Way in Morrow, Clayton County police spokeswoman Sgt. Ashanti Marbury said.

Michael David Smith was charged with cruelty to children and murder both in the second degree Marbury said. Smith was taken to the Clayton County Jail.

Marbury said Smith placed the boy, who is autistic and wheelchair bound, in the tub. Smith left the bathroom momentarily to check on three other children in the home. When he came back, the boy was dead in the tub.

The 11-year-old’s name has not been released. Smith is a teacher in Clayton County Public Schools, according to a release.

The investigation is ongoing.