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.

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Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo

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Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo