Background: Bodycam footage from the night Micah Taylor died in 2021 (WRDW). Inset: Dakota Taylor (McDuffie County Sheriff”s Office).
A Georgia woman was accused of murdering two of her infant sons four years apart after her behavior at both scenes raised eyebrows.
Dakota Taylor, 21, was arrested on Nov. 20 following an investigation into the death of her 8-month-old son, Caleb, who died in January in Georgia’s Jefferson County. According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Taylor was already in custody in another county in connection with the 2021 death of another one of her children, 7-month-old Micah. Local CBS affiliate WRDW investigated both deaths and uncovered body camera footage from the scene of Micah’s death, when officers responded to a group home in DeKalb County, where a staff member found the infant unresponsive on the night of Sept. 13, 2021.
According to WRDW’s reporting, officers at the scene described Taylor’s attitude as her baby was receiving lifesaving measures as “nonchalant.”
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On the night of Jan. 8, authorities from the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services said that Taylor brought Caleb to the home of a family member at around 8 p.m. When a relative came outside to meet Taylor and Caleb, the baby’s head was covered and Taylor shut the car door, preventing the relative from seeing the baby.
Caleb was brought inside in his car seat and placed on a bed inside the home. When the blanket was removed, the relative told DFCS that the boy had a diaper partially covering his face. The relative said that Caleb’s lips and face were blue. The boy was brought to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
According to arrest warrants connected to the investigation into Caleb’s death, authorities said Taylor suffocated her baby to death.
WRDW’s reporting on the GBI investigation stated that Taylor told authorities that Caleb was happy and laughing when she picked him up earlier the same day at 3:30 p.m. She later said he was drowsy and took a nap while she watched a movie with him at her grandmother’s house. While there, she fed him and he fell asleep again. Taylor said that after she brought Caleb to another relative’s house, he passed away shortly after they arrived.
But according to WRDW’s reporting, the GBI discovered that this was not the first time one of Taylor’s babies died in her care. On Sept. 13, 2021, Taylor was living at a group home with her 7-month-old son Micah, where they were under the watch of DFCS. An employee of the group home told DFCS that late that evening, Taylor gave Micah a bath after he became ill following a feeding. When Taylor returned, the little boy was unconscious.
The employee called 911 and began CPR on the baby. After paramedics and police arrived, they noted that Taylor’s behavior was unusual while her baby was receiving lifesaving procedures and being put in an ambulance. Body camera footage obtained by WRDW and the GBI included an officer reportedly saying, “I don’t know if this has anything to do with anything, but the mother, didn’t… She was very… Like, ‘Alright, whatever.’ And I was like, ‘Your baby is…'” Another officer reportedly described Taylor’s attitude at the scene as “nonchalant.”
DFCS told authorities that Taylor also had two other children who were in foster care.
Following an investigation into both babies’ deaths, Taylor was arrested and charged with two counts each of malice murder, felony murder and cruelty to children. She was previously being held at McDuffie County Jail in connection with the death of her son Caleb. Jail records show that she has been released, and it is unclear where she is being held as of Monday. Taylor is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 11.
