• Child dies after being left alone in the bathroom
• Investigators say he was distracted by two children arguing before the drowning was discovered

Authorities in the U.S. state of Arkansas have charged a 31-year-old father with manslaughter after his 11-month-old son was left unattended and drowned in a bathtub.

According to court records obtained by local media, James Dawson was arrested by the Poinsett County Sheriff’s Office about four months after the child was taken to hospital, where he later died from drowning.

He was charged with manslaughter and first-degree endangerment of a minor and was released less than an hour after his arrest.

Preliminary information obtained by media outlets said county investigators, along with emergency crews from the Lepanto Police and Fire departments, were called on Oct. 2 to Dawson’s home to assist an unresponsive child following a drowning incident.

His parents attempted CPR at home before he was transported to hospital, where he died the following day, the report said.

During questioning, Dawson and the child’s mother said she had left the house to feed her dog at her father’s home and returned about 20 minutes later.

When she came back, Dawson and the couple’s two other children greeted her and asked for food. Minutes later, she heard water running in the bathroom and asked Dawson why the tap was on.

Investigators wrote that, according to the mother, “Mr. Dawson had put the child in the bathroom to bathe him, inserted the plug and turned on the water.”

She added that he left the room because the other two children were arguing and crying. When she noticed the running water and questioned him, he replied: “Oh my God, the baby is in there.”

The mother said she ran to the bathroom and found her child face down in the tub. Dawson began performing CPR while she called 911.

The affidavit indicated Dawson had become distracted by the two children arguing about dinner, while the mother had returned home roughly a minute later.

She also said that as they left the bathroom, Dawson repeatedly said, “It’s all my fault,” and that he had “forgotten.”

Later, the Poinsett County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division executed a search warrant at the home, where investigators found that the chair Dawson had been sitting in at the time was located far from the bathtub.