Mother of drowned toddler files wrongful death suit against ex-husband

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The mother of Dylan Walsh, the three year-old boy whose body was found at Lake Tobesofkee in 2015, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against her ex-husband.

Jenean Winston claims that her ex-husband Mark Walsh is responsible for the death of their son who was in his father’s custody on the night he died.

“Words cannot describe the immeasurable amount of pain and hurt that I feel every moment of every day of my life.”

Winston believes her son Dylan’s drowning near the Pig and Fish restaurant back in August of 2015 was a tragedy that could’ve been avoided.

“A father was derelict of his duties as a father. It was his first weekend with custody of his child after his divorce from Ms. Winston,” said her lawyer Andrew Tate.

The civil suit against Mark Walsh claims he was intoxicated at the restaurant earlier on the night Dylan went missing, and before taking him out to look at boats on the dock.

“That Saturday night the father decided to rack up a $125 alcohol bill (between) him and one or two other people, and then (he and Dylan) went down by the docks and then next thing we know Dylan is missing,” Tate continued.

The toddler’s body was found 11 hours later underneath the dock slip.

“We thought this may have been an abduction based on what we heard from the father. He stayed there, he never tried to leave,” said Sheriff David Davis.

Both Sheriff Davis and District Attorney David Cook agree that it was a terrible tragedy but say not every tragedy is a crime–and in this case, neither of the two found reason to press charges against Walsh.

“If there had been any time of criminal negligence or any type of evidences of a crime that any type of charges could’ve been brought, the sheriff’s office and the district attorney’s office will certainly move forward with those charges no matter where the parent may have gone to after the incident,” Davis said.

But Winston and Tate say the facts show otherwise.

“We’d like the district attorney to re-open this case. We’re calling on him to re-open this case and indict Mr. Walsh and we’ve filed a civil action against Mr. Walsh for the wrongful death and the homicide of a child,” he stated.

Winston is seeking monetary damages from Walsh for the death of their son but she hasn’t seen or heard from Walsh despite efforts to contact him through her lawyer.

They’ve asked anyone with information on his whereabouts to call this Tipline–470-231-6167.