Cobb dad’s charges upgraded after tests show cocaine in toddler’s body

The charges against a Cobb County father whose toddler was found dead in a bathtub last year have been upgraded to felony murder, according to the district attorney’s office.

That’s because the little boy ingested some of his father’s cocaine, states the latest indictment for Kenton Lydale Hamilton.

Kenton Hamilton did “cause the death of his 17-month-old toddler son, Devoneir Hamilton, a human being, who ingested cocaine possessed by said accused, which was a significant contributing factor to Devoneir Hamilton’s death,” says the indictment, handed down this week.

In August 2024, Kenton Hamilton told Kennesaw police he fell asleep on the couch with his son sleeping on his chest. But when a friend woke Hamilton later that morning, the child was gone. The toddler was found dead in a bathtub upstairs, according to police.

Hamilton, who lived in the Windsor Court home, told investigators the child got off the couch, “walked up two flights of stairs, climbed into the bathtub and turned the water to the tub on and drowned,” an arrest warrant states. A 4-year-old was also in the home, according to the warrant.

The father was arrested hours later and charged with second-degree homicide, second-degree cruelty to children, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and cocaine possession. He was indicted on additional charges, including tampering with evidence, the following month. Felony murder is the only additional charge in the recent indictment.

Hamilton has remained in the Cobb jail since his arrest, booking records show. His attorney did not immediately respond Friday afternoon to a request to comment on the case.